Why it is time to change outdated school uniform rules: Dr Elizabeth Nassem

School uniform remains one of the least questioned features of the education system, despite society having changed dramatically since these rules were introduced.

Many uniform policies are rooted in Victorian ideas about conformity, respectability and control, ideas formed long before we understood mental health, adolescent development or the impact of constant surveillance on young people.

In my research with pupils across secondary schools, a consistent picture emerges. Uniform enforcement does not simply regulate appearance; it shapes how children experience their bodies and their value.

Girls describe feeling watched, judged and singled out. Those who are more physically developed, or who do not fit narrow standards of “acceptable” femininity, are more likely to be told to cover up, pulled out of lessons or disciplined, even when they are wearing the same clothes as their peers.

This is not about individual teachers behaving badly. It is about systems that remove discretion and impose rules without nuance. Teachers are often placed in an extremely difficult position, required to enforce policies rigidly while lacking the training, time or autonomy to deal sensitively with adolescent bodies and sexuality.

What schools frame as “maintaining standards”, pupils often experience as humiliation or sexualisation.

The timing of this conversation matters. Mental health is now acknowledged as a central concern in children’s lives rather than the abstract and stigmatised concept it was. At the same time, young people exist within an appearance-driven culture shaped by social media, reality television and constant comparison.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram heighten awareness of how bodies are seen and judged, while punitive uniform rules intensify that pressure inside school walls.

Suppressing self-expression does not remove sexuality or insecurity. It displaces it. When pupils are tightly constrained, those pressures find other outlets, through bullying, anxiety, eating disorders and conflict.

What appears on the surface as a strict approach to order can, in reality, create the conditions for harm.

These effects are not felt evenly. Research shows that black girls’ bodies are more likely to be sexualised and punished; working-class pupils and children with special educational needs are more frequently targeted for visible rulebreaking. Uniform enforcement becomes another mechanism through which existing inequalities are reinforced, even when schools claim neutrality.

It is no coincidence that recent cultural moments, such as the BAFTA-winning drama Adolescence, have resonated so strongly. While fictional, they reflect a widely shared concern that young people are navigating school environments that are illequipped to handle the emotional, social and physical realities of modern adolescence.

The solution is not to abolish school uniform overnight. Nor is it to abandon standards altogether. But schools must ask whether rigid uniform rules are really serving their intended purpose.

Small, practical changes such as relaxing rules during hotter weather, allowing choice within agreed colour palettes, involving pupils in policy reviews, can make a significant difference. Crucially, teachers need some or more permission and support to use professional judgement rather than relying solely on enforcement.

Listening to pupil voice is not a threat to authority; it is a safeguard against harm. Schools that engage with children’s lived experience are better placed to create environments that are orderly without being oppressive, inclusive without being naïve.

In 2026, continuing to impose 19th century solutions on 21st century challenges is no longer defensible. If we want schools to be places where children feel safe, respected and mentally well, we must be prepared to loosen the rules that quietly do the greatest damage.

Dr Elizabeth Nassem is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Bradford and a nationally recognised expert on school bullying, sexual bullying and pupil wellbeing.