School uniforms to change for four million pupils under plans

Planned changes to school uniform policy will affect over four million pupils across England, according to new estimates from the Department for Education (DfE).

The government says seven in 10 secondary schools and 35% of primary schools in England will have to reduce the number of compulsory branded items to three, plus a branded tie for secondary students.

The new rule is part of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which still has several parliamentary stages to go through before becoming a law.

The government says families will save money, but school wear manufacturers warn the plans could end up costing them more.

The average cost of a full school uniform and PE kit for a child at secondary school is £442, and is £343 for a primary school pupil, according to the latest DfE data.

Existing statutory guidance, introduced by the previous government, requires schools to consider the cost of their uniform so that it is not a deciding factor for parents when choosing schools.

The current government wants to go further, by limiting the number of items unique to a school that have to be bought from designated suppliers.

The government claims parents will save around £50 per child through the school uniform measures, which it hopes to introduce in September 2026.

But uniform retailers warn that the planned changes might increase costs for families. The Schoolwear Association says the plans could mean parents spend more on replacing lower-quality generic garments which might not last as long as branded items.

They say branded uniforms also play a role in reducing inequality in schools and improving behaviour.

Many parents rely on uniform exchanges to afford the full list of items required by their children's schools.

At Darlington Borough Council's exchange, located on the ground floor of a multi-storey car park, all the uniforms have been donated and are free to local parents, who are able to stock up on branded items from over 25 schools in the area.

The exchange has been running for five years and has given out approximately 12,000 items to 4,000 customers.

Volunteer Kay says she is worried some school uniform policies will still be too strict even after the government's planned limit on logos comes into force.

"Some of the schools are particular about a certain skirt, a certain style from a certain supplier - so that can cause problems and be quite expensive for parents," she says.

But she says it is a good thing that more parents will be able to buy more of their uniforms from other retailers, like supermarkets.

In Darlington town centre, one mum with two sons at primary school and a daughter in secondary said she was worried about the jump in uniform costs coming when her sons join secondary school.

"It's just a nightmare," she said.

"My daughter's school is really strict on the uniform. You can't get black trousers, it's got to be grey, or pleated skirts. For their shoes alone I'm looking at £60 a year, and there's three of them. That's not including blazers, PE kits or anything else.

"It's a lot of money when it all adds up."

Matt Perry, head teacher at The Halifax Academy in West Yorkshire, says he makes sure pupils follow the school's rules on uniform, but also wants to ensure it is affordable for parents.

The school gives its pupils ties for free, and parts of the PE kit and a school blazer are the only compulsory items with branding on.

The school may cut back further if limits to branded items are brought in.

The school is in an area of Halifax with high deprivation, and has a uniform bank as well as a laundrette to wash pupils' uniforms.

Mr Perry says branded school uniform can bring a sense of pride and inclusion, but that tough uniform policies can be a barrier to attendance.

"There are so many different factors that children have to face in order to have clean and correct uniform that is used daily," he says.

"As long as we see the families really trying to adhere to the uniform policy that we've got, we can be flexible with how we interpret that. So if it is in the right colours but it's not branded, that doesn't matter to us."

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is due to go through its second reading in the House of Lords later this week.