School Uniform

Our federation has a duty to make sure that the uniform we require is affordable, in line with statutory guidance from the Department for Education on the cost of school uniform. We understand that items with distinctive characteristics (such as branded items, or items that have to have a school logo or a unique fabric/colour/design) cannot be purchased from a wide range of retailers and that requiring many such items limits parents/carers’ ability to ‘shop around’ for a low price.

We will therefore make sure our uniforms:

• are available at a reasonable cost
• provide the best value for money for parents/carers

We will do this by:

• carefully considering whether any items with distinctive characteristics are necessary
• limiting any items with distinctive characteristics where possible - for example, by only asking that the jumper features the school name/logo
• limiting items with distinctive characteristics to low-cost or long-lasting items, such as ties
• avoiding specific requirements for items pupils could wear on non-school days, such as coats, bags and shoes
• keeping the number of optional branded items to a minimum, so that each school’s uniform can act as a social leveller
• avoiding different uniform requirements for different year groups
• avoiding different uniform requirements for extra-curricular activities
• considering alternative methods for signalling differences in groups for inter-school competitions, such as creating posters or labels
• making sure that arrangements are in place for parents/carers to acquire second-hand uniform items
• avoiding frequent changes to uniform specifications and minimising the financial impact on parents/carers of any changes
• consulting with parents/carers and pupils on any proposed significant changes to the uniform policy and carefully considering any related complaint

School Uniform Policy