Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Written evidence submitted by Louise Renshaw, Director, Classworx Ltd (CWSB129)

As a family-owned school uniform shop we work closely with 45 local schools to supply good quality, fit for purpose school uniform to parents all year round. I am submitting evidence to oppose the proposed cap of 3 branded items (plus tie) per school making the following key points:

1. This cap will have many unintended consequences, here are just a few:

1.1. It will increase, not decrease, costs for parents as they will need to replace poor quality supermarket/internet alternatives more frequently. Schoolwear Association research says this will be a 20% annual increase.

1.2. There will be a reduction in the pre-loved uniform market as poor quality items are unsustainable and cannot be passed on because they do not last as long.

1.3. Schools will be affected as they lose their identity and a key tool in enforcing parity amongst pupils. School uniform is a social leveller. This move will introduce the have/have not culture which is a key driver of bulling in schools.

1.4. School PE kit will become obsolete. This will mean some children in Primark and some in Under Armour. Parents will be pressured into spending far more on fashion and high street sports brands, many of which are inappropriate for school, i.e. see through leggings, excessively short shorts. Children who play on school teams will be buying 2 sets of kit so the school has an identifiable team strip when playing in matches.

1.5. The loss of the school -branded PE kit will reduce participation in sport particularly amongst teenage girls who will feel pressured to wear expensive clothing.

1.6. As a schoolwear supplier, our business will be under severe threat. Closure would impact on the many services we provide in our local community including employment, particularly of young people.

1.7. Schoolwear suppliers will need to increase the cost of remaining branded items as they struggle to survive with this latest attack on their businesses. They have already absorbed the financial impact of the previous School Uniform Bill (proven to have lowered the cost of uniform by 25%), plus the latest NI and minimum wage rises.

1.8. As specialists close there will be a total reliance on supermarkets who only provide basic options during July and August. Parents already complain that supermarkets do not stock the choice or quality school uniform they require. They offer comparatively poor customer service and will undoubtedly increase their prices if they are required to give uniform floor space for 12 months of the year and not treat it as a seasonal loss leader.

1.9. Schools have branded garments for a reason e.g. girls skirts are badged to stop them rolling them to inappropriate lengths. Some choose a reasonable priced badged backpack to stop bulling of students who can’t afford the latest brand.

2. Other points:

There has not been proper consultation with schools, head teachers, PE teachers, parents or the Schoolwear Industry body, the Schoolwear Association.

2.1. Teachers:

Head teacher are mostly completely unaware of the proposed cap. They have clearly not been consulted despite this having far reaching effects on their school uniform policies and ultimately their ability to deliver education. Most schools have sensible uniform policies and have already honed their unform Head teachers support a sensible school uniform policy and they are expressing serious concerns that this will make teachers’ job’s even harder.

2.2. Parents:

The vast majority of parents, and I speak to thousands of them, understand the many benefits of school uniform and believe that it is excellent quality and good value for money. A blazer for under £40 which is worn every single day for an average lifespan of 2.4 years is an example of the brilliant value our industry provides. The vast majority of parents are strongly in favour of branded school uniform, particularly at high school age where they know if it is removed their children will face huge social issues and they will face spiralling costs.

2.3. Schoolwear Association:

Despite the strong evidence and research presented by the Schoolwear Association to support all of the above points and their persistent lobbying, the Minister has thus far avoided a meeting with the industry experts. I can only conclude that the Government does not want the facts to get in the way of a good story. There is so little proven evidence to support the Governments claims of saving money and overwhelming evidence to dispute it.

3. The Solution:

Whilst I do not accept that any cap will achieve its goal of lowering costs for parents, if the Government is intent on introducing one, a more sensible cap would be FIVE branded items PLUS a tie. This would save many businesses, allow schools to do their job with the tools they desperately need and ensure that parents and students continue to receive the good value and good service that they rightly expect and deserve.

January 2025