Cost of school uniforms

Following publication of the provisions in the draft Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (“the Bill”) regarding the costs of school uniform, the Department for Education (DfE) has updated their statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms. Whilst some of this guidance is in place automatically, it makes clear that some elements will not come into force until September 2026, presumably to allow for schools and Trusts to make the relevant amendments to their existing policies as the Bill becomes law.

As the Bill is not yet in force, the guidance currently enforceable still remains vague in stating that “all branded items should be kept to a minimum”. However, the guidance now includes clarity as to what is meant by a minimum on the provisions that the Government is currently looking to make the following limits mandatory:

“From September 2026,

• Schools should limit the number of compulsory branded items of uniform and PE kit to 3 or fewer
• Secondary and middle schools should limit the number of compulsory branded items of uniform and PE kit to 4 or fewer, if one is a tie.”

The inclusion of the wording “PE kit” goes beyond the wording in the Bill and has likely been done to emphasise that the PE kit is not to be treated as a separate entity that falls outside of the school uniform for the sake of branded items. The focus on PE kits is further expanded, including highlighting that any requirement for different types of kit dependent on the sport will need to be justified by the school or Trust rather than simply be an expectation.

From the initial drafting of the Bill, there was a question left open as to whether activities that the school was attending but not officially leading would fall under the school uniform bracket. However, the guidance states that “it is not enough to consider only everyday classroom wear. They should also take into account PE kit, as well as clothing needed for extra-curricular activities and when travelling to and from school”. Therefore, this provides the understanding that effectively anything that the pupils are taking part in as representatives of the school / Trust will be caught by the definition. The definition of branded items is also expanded beyond the definition in the draft Bill to clarify what will be deemed a branded item, and so schools and Trust should take this into consideration when determining what items they do and do not require to be branded.

Equally, the guidance discusses what can be done regarding the uniform for existing pupils, under “avoid frequent changes”. This may mean that there is a period where existing pupils and new pupils are in different uniforms, but it will support families in minimising unnecessary costs, especially where the existing uniform still fits pupils.

One element that neither the draft Bill nor the guidance touch upon is the overall cost of branded items, and if there should be a limit on how much the overall uniform should cost.

However, on the whole, the current guidance and draft guidance do provide clarity as to the considerations that schools and Trusts should have when reviewing their policies to ensure that uniform costs are kept to a minimum for both existing and new pupils. Overall, the key issue is where certain items can only be bought from appointed uniform suppliers, these are likely to fall under the branded umbrella, in comparison to items that can be purchased from a range of retailers and at a range of prices.

We would recommend that schools / Trusts review their policies as soon as possible to ensure that the amendments are in place in time for September 2026, and to allow pupils and parents to raise any concerns / questions that they may have in plenty of time. Schools / Trusts also need to remember that, in amending the uniform policy, they need to remain flexible where reasonable adjustments are required.

If you need further guidance on the implications of this guidance, please contact me on 0161 804 9291 or alexandrarobinson@stoneking.co.uk or your usual Stone King contact