Out of control school uniform costs need to be curtailed - Jayne Dowle

For years, the end of August signified a scramble to find the cash to update outgrown blazers, skirts, blouses, jumpers and shoes for Lizzie and her older brother. All with the correct logo or meeting specific credentials of course. And all from one of two approved suppliers in our town.

And yes, I always did leave it to the last minute, because I hated the process, felt compromised by the system and resented spending 40-odd quid on a blazer, plus at least another hundred or so pounds on logo-ed PE kit and sensible, solid footwear that inevitably caused blisters.

Now Lizzie is doing A Levels, she can wear what she likes. And I welcome this, not just because of the money it will save us, but also because she can express herself freely.

It’s a golden time, and one I thoroughly embraced all those years ago. I loved it at sixth-form college, experimenting with all kinds of trends and styles.

That said, a sartorial free-for-all in primary and secondary schools would be the last thing parents need. Children are competitive and judgemental enough already, without the added pressure of wearing the ‘right’ labels.

However, I’m pleased that Lizzie has finally been able to throw off the shackles of tights and pleated skirts, because frankly, school uniforms are a racket that put even affluent families on a financial knife edge.

The Schoolwear Association has found the average cost of compulsory school uniform and sportswear items is £101.19 per pupil, but I’d say that with regular replacements for torn/lost/outgrown things, the annual cost will be at least double that.

The government has introduced a new law, which has come into force this month, requiring schools to follow new statutory guidance on uniform costs, instructing them to keep prices down.

However, from the anecdotal evidence I’ve been gathering, it’s not stopped schools from insisting on ‘logo-only’ on basics such as jumpers and black trousers, pushing up the cost of items to levels unaffordable to parents that are already struggling to buy food and pay bills.

Launching the legislation in April 2021, Mark Russell, chief executive of The Children’s Society charity said: “Young people told us back in 2014 that high-priced school uniforms had a huge impact on their ability to make the most of their education. We hope this new law will make children feel more equal to their classmates and make life easier for struggling families.”

And this is perhaps now the case more than ever. The more pressure there is exerted from schools, the more isolated and excluded pupils from less-advantaged homes feel.

Thank goodness that in many towns, cities and villages in our region, enterprising parents are bypassing the ‘must-buy-new’ culture and setting up uniform exchanges and second-hand banks where things can be had for free or little cost.

However, counter to this runs the educational theory that being forced to follow uniform rules is good practice for self-discipline. It’s a theory that seems particularly popular in the kind of secondary academy both my kids attended, where children come from a challenging range of social backgrounds. I’ve not seen the school’s overall GCSE results yet, so we shall see just how successful a factor it’s proving to be in Barnsley.

Given that official government figures say that exactly one third of Year 11 pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland failed to achieve a pass (at Grade 4) in English and maths this summer, it’s obvious that stringent rules on shoe colour and heel height are having a negligible effect on what really matters.

We’re all having to make cutbacks and sacrifices as inflation climbs into double figures, and the price of food, energy and fuel rockets ever skywards.

For families, at least, surely it’s time for schools to cut some slack and stop inflicting ‘logo-only’ items on parents for a start. Surely a colour or two colours are enough to proclaim to the world that a child ‘belongs’ to a certain educational establishment.

I’m not sure how this would be implemented, but there should also be well-enforced price caps on individual items from approved suppliers. I’d like to see less pressure here too in terms of all those ‘handy items’ that schools and suppliers deem necessary, such as logoed book bags. A book is a book, however it’s carried between school and home.

And for schools, educationalists and ministers, I’d say it’s time to go back to the classroom. A big question needs to be asked and answered: are school uniforms, for so long held to be the great leveller, actually becoming a very real symbol of social division?