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Written question asked by Rachael Maskell (Labour) on Thursday, 16 January 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 January 2020 (named day). It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 January 2020 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Schools: Uniforms

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the affordability of school uniforms; and if his Department will take steps to increase the affordability of those uniforms.

Answer

It is for the governing body of a school (or in the case of academies, the academy trust) to decide whether there should be a school uniform, what it will be and how it should be sourced. To support them to do this the Department issues best practice guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.

This makes clear that we expect schools to ensure uniform costs are reasonable. Our guidance clearly states that uniform items should be easily available for parents to purchase and schools should keep compulsory branded items to a minimum. It also states that schools should avoid single-supplier contracts but where schools do choose to enter into such contracts, they should be subject to a regular competitive tendering process.

No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to a school and this Government has announced its plan to put the current guidance on a statutory footing at the earliest opportunity.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4402
Session
2019-21
Subjects
Prices Schools Uniforms
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk