Price of school uniforms for parents is 'unacceptable' say Kirklees councillors

A joint motion will be presented by the Liberal Democrat and Labour groups at today’s (January 17) full council meeting calling for intervention from the Government.

They also want Kirklees Council to support local schools to make changes to their school uniform policies to ensure that they are more affordable.

In 2021, the Government published statutory guidance to help keep the cost of uniform as low as possible.

The guidance requires school authorities to consider costs when setting school uniform policies.

This includes ensuring that school uniforms are affordable, keeping the number of branded items to a minimum and requiring schools to ensure that second-hand uniforms are available for parents to acquire.

But research by The Children’s Society shows that uniform costs continue to rise, with parents spending an average of £287 a year on primary school uniforms and £422 a year on secondary school uniforms.

Coun Andrew Marchington (Lib Dem, Golcar) is one of the councillors presenting the motion. He said: “The cost of school uniforms has been a problem for a while but we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis and families are facing a huge squeeze on their income from increased mortgage payments, rent payments, food costs and utility costs.

“Furthermore, many local authorities, including Kirklees Council, no longer offer financial support to disadvantaged families to support them with the costs. This means that buying school uniforms is currently an even bigger concern for many parents.

“The existing statutory guidance isn’t working. We think that the existing guidance itself is being interpreted differently by schools and isn’t clear enough. It needs to be reviewed and updated as a matter of urgency.

“It’s important that we address this and try to find a solution. This can only be resolved through Government intervention and by schools and local authorities working together.”

The motion says the council should do all it can to signpost parents and schools to the borough’s “excellent provision” for recycling uniform, referencing the charity, Uniform Exchange.

Uniform Exchange has already been helping to address the issue of high uniform costs, providing free, re-used school uniform to those who need it.