School uniform ‘gold standard’ needed across Wakefield district, committee says

A council committee said information about uniforms at all primary and secondary schools across the district needed to be easier to understand and accessible to parents.

A report by the children and young people scrutiny committee’s school uniform working group said: “The group found there was still considerable variation in the way schools approached uniform policy, with some doing the bare minimum to meet the statutory requirements, while others were much more helpful and parent friendly.”

Councillors said policies varied over the requirement for youngsters to wear uniforms with a school logo.

The report explained: “The requirement for branded items of uniform ranged from none, through to schools that included optional branded items and, at the opposite end of the scale, schools that required mandatory branded items.

“Consequently, parents of children attending schools with a policy of no branded items have the option to shop around and buy uniform at supermarkets.

“But for those with children at schools requiring mandatory branded items the choice is much more limited and expensive.”

Working group members said they found “positive and negative elements” as they researched policies at different schools.

The report added: “To achieve more consistency across uniform policies in the district and avoid families being disadvantaged by where they live, the group considered it would be useful to have a ‘gold standard’ of best practice that schools should aim to achieve.

“If families are struggling financially it can have an impact on children’s education, health and wellbeing as they are more likely to attend in the wrong or ill-fitting uniform and risk detention and isolation, or fall victim to bullies, or play truant because they do not feel that they fit in.”

The working group was established in October 2021 to investigate concerns about uniform cost and suggest ways to ease the financial burden on families.

It followed concerns about some schools requiring pupils to wear branded items which could only be obtained from specific suppliers, leading to higher costs for parents.

Work carried out by the group led to a temporary fund being created to assist families with uniform costs.

The fund helped 5,055 pupils through grants totalling £211,892 being distributed during the 2022/23 financial year.

In March this year, the council approved a £2m uniform support scheme which starts his summer.

It will provide a universal contribution of £30 for primary-aged pupils and £50 for secondary-aged pupils living in the Wakefield district and attending a state-run or academy school.

The report also said: “Members gathered a lot of information about uniform costs but the lack of a standard format across schools made it difficult to assess the average cost of uniform.

“There was a variation in approach across schools with some explaining that uniform did not have to be bought through the official supplier as most items could be bought at supermarkets.

“At the other end of the spectrum were schools who recommended parents bought all uniform items from their supplier to avoid buying the wrong uniform.”

The report also recommended that schools display all information relating to uniforms “together in one place on their websites” and do more to promote uniform recycling.

The government is expected to make it a legal requirement for schools to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit to four from September 2026 as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.