3.The cost of school uniforms is consistently cited as a key concern for parents on an annual basis. This has only increased since the cost-of-living crisis. Schools in Northern Ireland have the right, in law, to manage their day-to-day running. This includes deciding whether to have a school uniform and, if so, what that uniform should be. In practice, while school uniforms are not compulsory, almost all schools here have a school uniform.
4.School uniforms play an important part in the engagement of pupils with their school, promoting a sense of identity, pride and unity and supporting the ethos of the school. They can also ensure pupils from all backgrounds feel welcome, protecting children from social pressures to dress in a particular way and promoting good relations between different groups of pupils. In addition, school uniforms support the safe-guarding policy of a school, making it easier to identify any individuals who should not be on the premises.
5.To support schools, the Department of Education published guidance on uniforms(1), with a revised version issuing in 2018. Schools have been reminded of this guidance regularly.
6.Many schools in Northern Ireland followed the guidance and worked hard to keep the costs of school uniforms as low as possible, however, some schools continued to have uniform policies where certain items of a uniform were expensive; or restrictions were in place on where parents or carers could buy the uniform giving them little or no opportunity to purchase cheaper, sometimes better quality school uniform items from alternative suppliers.
7.Parents should not find the cost of a school uniform a significant outlay, nor should it deter them from applying for a particular school.
8.The aim of the Act is to ensure that school governing bodies put affordability, comfort, practicality and sustainability at the centre of their decision-making when they set their school uniform requirements. Prior to the Act schools did not, legally, have to follow the Departmental guidance. This Act means that grant-aided and independent primary and post-primary schools must adhere to the guidelines about school uniform policies and these guidelines are therefore given statutory effect.
Background and Policy Objectives