COSTLY KIT
WITH the cost of living crisis hitting everyone’s wallets, lots of parents are worried about how they’re going to pay for your school uniform. Whether you’re going to a new school or have just grown out of your old uniform, new kit can be a big expense. S
WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
The UK (and the rest of the world) is struggling with a cost of living crisis. That means just about everything is going up in price, whether it’s food, petrol, gas, electricity, DIY materials or how much your parents pay to buy or rent your house.
Although some of you might not wear school uniform at all, more and more schools now insist on it. It’s also common now for schools to have more branded items, such as ties and blazers that have a school badge or crest on them.
Kate Stephenson, the author of A Cultural History Of School Uniform, told us: “There’s been a tendency in the last 15-20 years to make uniforms more strict, and a lot of state schools have moved away from their relaxed 1960s and ’70s approach and back into blazers and ties.”
But often these can only be bought from certain shops, adding up to £10 to the cost of each item.
“As living costs spiral, parents are really struggling to cope with the cost of school uniform,” says Kate Anstey, head of the Child Poverty Action Group’s Cost of the School Day programme. “Some are going without, getting into debt or saving for months to get their children the required kit. And we know that kids get pulled from lessons or sent home for not having all the required uniform. England is the only UK nation where lower income families can’t get Government support for uniform costs. That isn’t right. The Government must build on the uniform guidance by putting in place clothing grants for hard-pressed families. Families are struggling… There is no reason for the extra burden of unnecessary uniform costs.”
WHO MAKES THE RULES?
In the UK, schools don’t have to have a uniform, but in England the Department for Education strongly recommends that they do. But it’s actually each school’s governing body that decides what the uniform policy is.
The four UK Governments offer advice to schools on uniforms, but England and Wales have also passed new laws to force schools to make uniform more affordable. The Scottish Government is holding a consultation now on whether it should do the same.
The new rules in England and Wales say that schools should keep branded items to a minimum and that second-hand uniforms should be available to buy either from the school or an established local scheme. Details of a school’s uniform policy and any second-hand uniform have to be published on a school’s website.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told us: “There are advantages to having uniform policies, such as avoiding an arms race [competition] between pupils in expensive fashion items, as well as encouraging a sense of community and pride in the school. But there is clearly a balance to be struck between having a uniform policy and ensuring that it is affordable. In addition, it is a sad fact – and a very poor reflection on our society – that many children and young people live in poverty, and it has long been the case that schools discreetly help them out by providing items of clothing. We imagine that this will become a more pressing need as the cost of living increases and financial hardship deepens.”
WHY DO WE HAVE TO WEAR SCHOOL UNIFORM ANYWAY?
That’s a very good question! Northern Ireland’s Department of Education says uniform supports “positive behaviour and discipline” and protects children from “social pressures to dress in a particular way”. It adds that “many schools also believe that school uniform supports effective teaching and learning.”
However, researchers at the Education Endowment Foundation say that the evidence on whether uniform affects learning is “extremely weak” and that “wearing a uniform is not, on its own, likely to improve learning”.
Kate Stephenson also says there’s no evidence that uniform improves behaviour. “Nobody’s really done any research on it at all,” she says, “but people keep talking about it as though it’s true. The reason I think people make the association is because you get new head teachers in, they make sweeping changes in schools and one of them is often to introduce uniform. And then the school improves, but it’s actually got nothing to do with the uniform – it’s to do with all the other changes that were made. It tends to be that schools with stricter uniforms have better behaviour, but usually because they’re selective [schools where you have to pass a test to get in].”
So with parents struggling for money, could schools drop uniform rules or at least relax them?
“I think schools would function perfectly well without uniform,” Stephenson says. “It comes from a 500-year tradition and I think that’s partly why people are so attached to it. And because it’s worn so much more widely in the UK than it is elsewhere, it’s become a real symbol of Britishness. It became particularly associated with the World Wars and 20th century change, so I think there is a huge feeling of nostalgia and that people place too much importance on
school uniform.”