Labour calls for cheaper school uniforms

'Tell schools how to help families afford them'

A Labour councillor and former Plymouth teacher is calling on the Conservatives to tell schools how they can help families struggling to afford school uniforms. 

Cllr Tom Briars-Delve, wants schools across the city to make sure they are implementing new guidance to reduce the cost of school uniforms.

Cllr Briars-Delve will bring a motion to the full council on 21 November urging the Conservative cabinet member for education to write to all of the city’s schools, asking them to provide information, including the average cost of their school uniform and PE kit.

The member for Stoke spent ten years teaching in Plymouth schools and said he found it difficult “to see certain children returning in jumpers with gaping holes or blazers several sizes too small.”

He added: “Household budgets are now even more stretched by the cost of living crisis. Local charities, such as Uniform Store Plymouth, have sprung up to help. 

“Some academy chains have introduced stricter uniform expectations, whilst others have prioritised new guidance to remove unnecessary branded items and allow high-street alternatives.

“That’s why we felt the time was right to ask the cabinet member for education to write to every school across the city requesting details of how they have reviewed and updated their uniform policy.”

In November 2021 the government introduced statutory guidance aimed at helping families cope with the cost of uniforms by requiring branding, such as school logos, to be kept to a minimum, allowing parents to buy cheaper items from supermarkets and shops rather than school suppliers.

The guidance said schools needed to think about the total cost of school uniforms, taking into account all items of uniform or clothing parents will need to provide while their child is at the school. It added that schools should keep the use of branded items to a minimum. 

The statutory guidance from the Department for Education also said schools should ensure second-hand uniforms are available for parents to acquire. Information on second-hand uniforms should be clear for parents of current and prospective pupils and published on the school’s website.

All schools are required to be fully compliant with the guidance by summer 2023.

Research in 2020 revealed the average yearly spend on uniform was £337 for secondary school children and £315 for primary pupils. A YouGov survey, released last month, also found that two-thirds of Britons thought schools should help to cover the cost of uniforms.

The study also found a third of people believed schools should help to meet the expense by providing uniforms to children from low-income homes, while almost 30 per cent said schools should give uniforms to all pupils.  

Former acting headteacher and councillor for Stoke, Sally Cresswell, who is Plymouth Labour’s shadow cabinet member for education, will be seconding next week’s motion.