I appreciate the points raised by constituents wanting to see a ban on school uniforms. However, it is for the school's governing body to decide whether there should be a school uniform in place. and I know that colleagues in the Department for Education strongly encourage schools to have a uniform as it can play a valuable part in contributing to the ethos of a school. Schools are expected to consult with parents and pupils and take their views into account when setting the school uniform policy.
School uniforms should always be affordable and should not leave pupils or their families feeling that they cannot apply to a school. The Department for Education's guidance makes clear that schools' governing bodies should give cost considerations the highest priority and ensure value for money for parents when setting their uniform policy. Ministers have been looking for an opportunity to put this guidance on to a statutory footing and accordingly, they will be backing a Private Member's Bill on this topic in Parliament.
Schools are expected to fulfill their duties under equalities legislation and be willing to consider reasonable requests to vary their uniform policy to accommodate an individual pupil's beliefs, disability or other special consideration. I would strongly encourage any parent concerned about the uniform policy at their child's school to discuss this with the headteacher in the first instance.
