Parents of millions of children will be able to buy cheaper school uniforms because of a law reform that is currently going through parliament, the government has claimed.
Analysis by the Department for Education (DFE) said that the Schools Bill – whose full title is the welfare of the children and the school account – will lower the uniform costs for families with £ 70 million in England, saving parents £ 50 a year.
The bill is currently being investigated by the House of Lords, but the government has insisted that it will help to lower the costs of school uniform by limiting the number of branded items that schools can have that children must have.
While the House of Lords continues the bill of the bill, Yahoo News looks at what the bill could mean for school uniform costs.
What does the bill want to do?
The bill of the children and schools proposes a series of reforms, including free breakfast clubs, the creation of a new register of all trained children in England and reforms for academies.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that the bill approved at the third lecture with 382 votes to 104 will ensure the “greatest reform of social care for children in a generation”.
MPs have previously expressed concern about the high costs that parents are confronted with when buying brand items for uniform.
The government has insisted that it will help to reduce the costs of school uniform by seting limits to the number of branded items that schools can have that children must have.
These limit are three items, excluding school tires.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Smart watching at school should not cost the earth and not forced any parent to choose between buying family -evsentials and a school shirt or tie.
“In addition to our free breakfast clubs, these new laws will save parents hundreds of kilos a year and ensure that family finances do not affect the time of children at school.”
Surveys suggest that parents find school uniforms priceless. (Stock Image: Getty)
How much is school uniform?
Research suggests that parents believe that school uniform is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
Although schools are obliged to limit the amount of brand -uniform articles, DFE research suggests that they do not do this, whereby parents have to pay an average of £ 442 for high school uniforms and £ 343 for uniforms in primary school.
Last year, research suggested the Children's Society Charity that more than two -thirds of high school parents believe that the costs of school uniform are not affordable.
About half of the parents of students in high school said that they should buy at least three items for the school logo logo for their child.
A poll of 2,000 parents of children from school age in the United Kingdom showed that 56% thought that the costs of uniform are not affordable – and the figure was even higher with parents of secondary students (67%).
Legal government guidelines, which came into force in the autumn 2022, the state schools in England already tells to retain uniform items from the brand to “a minimum” and to limit their use to “cheap or long -term items”.
But the survey conducted by Censuswide in June suggests that 63% of the parents said that their school has not changed its uniform policy for the past two years.
What else will the bill do?
In addition to the uniform limits, the bill proposes to introduce free breakfast clubs, to create a new register of all trained children in England and reform academies.
A new register of all at home trained children in England will be established if the legislation becomes law, while free breakfast clubs are introduced to ensure that children are “ready to learn at the start of the school day”.
The bill would also require all state schools, including academies, to teach the national curriculum.
It would also enable it to open new schools that are not academies, and would put an end to the forced academization of schools that are run by local authorities that are identified as a concern by OFSTED.
The bill is currently being investigated by the House of Lords. (Stock Image: Getty)
What is the response to the bill?
Mark Russell, Chief Executive at the Children's Society, has previously said that the organization welcomed the proposals of the government to limit branded articles and to sharpen the legislation on uniform.
He said: “We believe that school uniform can have real benefits for children and, when parents struggle with the affordability of uniforms, we recommend that they contact their school and school governors.”
Pepe di'iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), also said earlier: “Schools are aware of the need to keep the costs of school uniforms as low as possible. Teachers and leaders witness the impact of poverty and many schools help to offer discreet clothing to families who do not give families the cost.
“All schools must follow legal guidelines stating that the use of branded articles must be kept to a minimum.”
James Bowen, Assistant -Secretary -General at School -Lijdersbond De Naht, said: “Schools work extremely hard to ensure that their uniform is affordable and has arrangements to support families who may struggle with the costs.
“These schemes include offering parents access to good quality uniforms, second-hand, many schools also have the option of non-brand items as part of their uniform requirements.
“Most schools will feel reasonably comfortable with the limitation of branded articles, but it will be important that the government is involved in the finer detail, simply to prevent unintended consequences.”
The Schoolwear Association has argued that the plan “parents would cost more” and said that covering brand items from Uniform “could create inequality at school” and increase the costs while young people exert their parents pressure to buy alternative clothing from brands such as Nike or Adidas.
