Gender-neutral uniforms get tick

Affordable, gender-neutral school uniforms are now a legal requirement in Wales – and Kiwis are calling on their Government to follow suit.

Under new regulations announced last week, Welsh schools will have to consider how to keep uniform costs down, whether that means abandoning logos or choosing generic items.

Policies must also be genderneutral, so while uniforms can include both skirts and pants, schools can’t label these as ‘‘girls’’ or ‘‘boys’’ items.

In New Zealand, a Neighbourly poll found 77.4 per cent of voters supported schools having generic, low-cost uniforms.

Former principal Mark Thompson said on Neighbourly that in the 1990s his school specified uniform colours but sold badges for families to sew on.

‘‘The kids looked great, people did not feel dictated to and most could find a bargain,’’ he said.

Principal of South Auckland’s Finlayson Park School Shirley Maihi said it wasn’t fair for families to have to buy branded uniforms from a single supplier.

An item that sold for $7 at Postie Plus could be $28 from a uniform supplier, she said.

Maihi said schools should work together to sort out these issues with suppliers: ‘‘Surely we can do better than this.’’

Brendon Morrissey is principal of Kaitaia Primary School in Northland and said the Welsh had ‘‘got it right’’.

Gender-neutral uniform policies were practical as well as ‘‘forward thinking’’, he said, and girls were as active as boys and had the right to dress comfortably.

He supported uniforms having fewer logos and more options to create more competition in the market, and said his school adopted that approach to keep costs down for families.

Victoria Trow, from Rainbow Youth, said Wales introducing gender-neutral uniforms was a ‘‘really progressive move’’ that New Zealand should ‘‘absolutely’’ copy. Enforcing ‘‘boys and girls’’ options for uniforms was at best limiting and at worst harmful for trans and gender diverse people.

Trow said adopting genderneutral uniforms would have to come from the top because schools varied widely in how supportive they were of trans and gender diverse young people.

New Zealand has historically left uniform decisions to boards of trustees, and when asked whether the Government would consider something similar to the Welsh policy, the Ministry of Education reiterated this.

‘‘School boards of trustees make and enforce school rules on a wide range of matters including uniforms,’’ the ministry’s Dr Andrea Schollmann said.

Schools should ‘‘consult with their parent community’’ before making any decisions about uniform and ‘‘make sure where practicable ... [to] minimise the costs to parents’’, she said.

The Welsh have ‘‘got it right’’. Brendon Morrissey principal of Kaitaia Primary School