Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the self-esteem of female pupils of having to wear a uniform.

The department has published advisory guidance on school uniform policy. The guidance makes clear that it is for the governing body of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and if so what that should be. It also makes clear that, when deciding on uniform policy, a school will have to consider its obligations not to discriminate unlawfully, including on the basis of gender.

The guidance can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.