Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government, following the recommendation of
the Welsh Minister for Education that school governing bodies
should review uniform policies, what assessment they have made of
the case for doing this in England.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, following the publication of statutory guidance in
November 2021, all schools in England should already have
reviewed their uniform policy and made changes to ensure their
uniforms are affordable for parents. The Cost of School Uniforms
guidance came into force in September 2022. It requires schools
to ensure their uniform costs are affordable and that parents get
the best value for money. Schools should be fully compliant with
the guidance by September 2023.
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for her Answer and the statutory guidance
being put in place. But the Government have never been clear
about how they are going to assess the success of the guidance.
Has it reduced costs for parents? Are schools complying with it?
Are stronger policies such as the ones we have in place in Wales
needed? Can the Minister please tell us whether there are any
plans to review its implementation?
(Con)
In terms of complying with the guidance, which is obviously
statutory, any concerns that a parent might have about a school’s
uniform policy need to be raised with the school in the first
instance through its complaints process. If the parent is then
unhappy with the outcome of their complaint, they can, of course,
raise it with the department.
(Lab)
My Lords, can the Minister indicate what monitoring the
Government undertake with schools in relation to the
affordability of school uniforms? Many families face a difficult
cost of living crisis.
(Con)
I absolutely understand that families face a cost of living
crisis, which is why the Government provided £94 billion of
support for households with those higher costs across 2022-23 and
2023-24. On how we ensure compliance, I can only repeat what I
said to the noble Baroness.
(LD)
My Lords, in my long experience in education, schools are very
much alive to the needs of their youngsters, particularly with
regard to school uniforms. Does the Minister agree with me that
the real problem here is that the noble Baroness is asking for a
national government edict on school uniform? Surely this should
be a matter for local education authorities, whose roles and
responsibilities have been weakened and reduced over many
years.
(Con)
The Government believe that it should be even more local than
that. I agree with the first part of the noble Baroness’s
question: schools absolutely know their communities. We very much
encourage schools to work with their parent bodies to establish
their school uniform policies and to work out what suits
them.
(Con)
Does my noble friend agree that it is important to allow children
to have a sense of identity and belonging, with which uniforms
help very much? What is being done to encourage schools that have
a recycling policy? That is terribly important and can
significantly reduce the cost.
(Con)
I agree with my noble friend’s first point, but we are
encouraging schools to identify elements of their branded uniform
that are low cost, finding their identity through a tie, perhaps,
rather than a blazer. Our guidance is clear about promoting
second-hand uniforms, which many students prefer because of the
environmental impact.
(GP)
My Lords, given that many forecast an extremely hot summer, with
heatwaves, and given that our uniforms were designed for another
age in many cases, will the Minister encourage others to follow
the lead of Hampshire County Council—which suggested that schools
should adapt uniform rules and consider adapting start and finish
times, and outside activities—to acknowledge the threat presented
by our rising temperature levels?
(Con)
As I said, schools know their communities, and we trust them to
make the right judgments for their pupils and staff.
of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, in her response to the noble Lord, , the noble Baroness mentioned
environmental sustainability. Will she accept that the cheapest
clothes available, not just for school uniforms but in many other
situations, are on the whole made from the least environmentally
sustainable fabrics? Will she accept that, if there is to be an
increase in recycling and reusing school uniforms—which I think
we all agree would be very good—it would be very much in
everyone’s interests if they were made from the highest-quality
fabrics? They would then last longer in the recycling
process.
(Con)
We have to strike a balance for parents who need to send their
children to school in a uniform that fits and is suitable,
encouraging them to use second-hand uniforms wherever possible,
while of course considering the environment.
