ASCL comment on cost of school uniform guidance

Commenting on the new statutory guidance requiring schools to keep uniform costs down, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“Schools already follow the government’s non-statutory guidance on school uniform which says that they should seek to select items that can be purchased cheaply, and that compulsory branded items should be kept to a minimum. This new guidance effectively makes this statutory.

“We fully support this guidance. Many schools have a uniform policy in order to give students a sense of identity and pride in their school, and to avoid the pressure children would feel if there was no policy and their peers wore expensive items and fashions they could not afford.

“However, schools are acutely aware of the need to keep uniform costs to a minimum, particularly as they often have many students who come from disadvantaged homes. They deal on a daily basis with the impact of the high level of child poverty the government has failed to address.”