Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the provisions of the statutory guidance entitled Cost of school uniforms published in November 2021 are enforced.

The statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms came into force in September 2022, so all schools should now be compliant. The only exception to this would be where this would breach a pre-existing supplier arrangement. The statutory guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms.

If parents are concerned about the cost of their child’s school uniform, they should raise this with the school, including through the school’s published complaints process where necessary.

If a parent is unhappy with the outcome of their complaint, they can raise this with the Department. The Department will consider whether the uniform policy meets the requirements of the guidance. The Department can use its existing statutory and funding agreement levers to make sure schools follow the guidance.