School uniform and clothing: Guidance for schools and education authorities

Information, consultation, and complaints

Information

Schools should provide clear, accessible information to pupils, parents and carers about their school uniform and clothing policy.

It is good practice for information about a school’s clothing and uniform policy to be included in their school handbook. The school handbook must be reviewed annually and updated where necessary. It must be made available to all parents or carers of existing and prospective pupils on request and be available on request to a parent or carer in an alternative form including in a language other than English if it is reasonable to do so. Further information about school handbooks can be found here – School Handbook Guidance: Information for local authorities and schools.

School uniform and clothing policies could also feature on a school’s website or noticeboard and be shared with pupils, parents and carers via social media, electronic contact or letters home. To ensure that all pupils, parents and carers are made aware of the school’s policies on school uniform and clothing, schools should be mindful of different family circumstances within their school community and take necessary steps to provide accessible information, for example in another language or format. Information about a school’s policy should also include a point of contact at school whom parents and carers can speak to if they have any concerns or problems with uniform or clothing.

Policies should be made available to parents and carers in parent friendly and accessible language and should avoid education-related jargon. Where this must be used, a glossary or something similar should be included to explain these terms. Schools could consider working with any Parent Council where applicable or other parent groups to develop their written policy to ensure that it is accessible and easy to read.

Positive communication with families

When sharing information or reminders with pupils, parents and carers about their approach to school uniform and clothing, schools should ensure accessibility and clear messaging. Communications from schools should reflect wider efforts to promote equity and inclusion and reduce the cost of the school day as part of a supportive and poverty aware culture. This may include signposting to pre-loved uniform initiatives or other sources of support, such as information about the school clothing grant or other financial support. Further information is provided in the section on signposting families to sources of support.

When communicating with pupils, parents and carers, it is important that schools are mindful of the language that they use. Schools should ensure that messaging promotes an inclusive and supportive culture. To achieve this, schools should avoid prescriptive or demanding language and instead use nurturing and inclusive language. For example, instead of sharing messaging stating, “full PE uniform must be worn,” try “appropriate clothing for PE is required,” with examples given of what is expected. Schools should also be considerate of the frequency and times of the year when issuing reminder messages to families about school uniform. For example, messages during the festive period or pre-summer holidays could add to already existing financial or other pressures on families.

Schools should share information about sustainable and cost-effective options for school uniforms, such as pre-loved uniform initiatives. They should also regularly share information about the school clothing grant and other available financial support. When communicating with parents and carers, schools should always do so in a way to reduce stigma around pre-loved or cost-effective options, while focusing their messages on more sustainable choices to encourage a positive culture change.

It is best practice for schools to issue universal communications about available support which uses inclusive language and is directed to the whole school community, rather than messaging which highlights specific groups. For example, schools should avoid using terms such as ‘vulnerable families’ or ‘families in need.’ This is particularly important as schools may not always know who is in need of support so should avoid assumptions. Communication around support available should be repeated regularly, on a variety of platforms and at key points in the year such as induction visits for new pupils, the start of term, pre-summer holidays and in sufficient time to meet school clothing grant application deadlines.

Consultation

To support an affordable, equitable and sustainable approach, schools should limit the frequency of changes to their uniform and clothing policy. Where schools are considering making changes to their policy, this should always be done in consultation with pupils, parents and carers, teachers and school staff and other relevant parties. Schools should consider a range of ways to seek views on potential changes. Types of engagement could include, surveys, engagement with any Parent Council where applicable, engagement with the Student Council or activities with pupils in class. Schools should ensure that they consider and mitigate any barriers to participation and take active steps to ensure that there are arrangements in place to support engagement with harder to reach pupils, parents and carers, for example, care experienced children and young people, young carers and Gypsy/Traveller families.

Parent Councils are a good starting point for consultation, but it is important for schools to consult with a range of groups to ensure a variety and diverse range of views are gathered. For example, schools should consult with groups like additional support for learning (“ASL”) parent support groups, equalities groups, English as an additional language (“EAL”) groups and similar parent or carer groups. Parent groups can also work in partnership with schools to carry out consultations through focus groups, surveys and using their own channels of communication.

To be truly meaningful, consultation should always involve two-way communication and provide opportunities for views to have an actual impact on the development of the policy. There are a range of resources available to support meaningful consultation and engagement. This includes Education Scotland's guidance on supporting communication with parents and carers and the Scottish Government’s guidance to support the involvement of children and young people in decision making.

Where schools are considering changes to their uniform or clothing policy, they should consider the impact of these changes in terms of affordability, sustainability, equality and inclusion. Schools should carefully consider the balance between the intended positive impact on pupils, parents, and carers and any negative consequences which could arise, to determine if change is necessary. Where there is a potential negative impact, schools should take appropriate action to mitigate this.

All schools must consider the requirements of the 2010 Act. Education authorities and the managers of grant-aided schools must also consider the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty of the 2010 Act and must assess the equality impact of proposed and revised policies and practices.^[28]

Where, following consultation, schools do make changes to their uniform or clothing policy, they should include a transition period of a minimum of one full school year. Schools should consider whether items from the previous policy can be incorporated into their new policy. This will limit costs for families and support the use of pre-loved or second-hand items of clothing. Where items from the previous policy are incorporated into the new policy, this should be in line with the key principles set out in this guidance.

Complaints

Good communication with pupils, parents and carers is key to effective implementation of school policies, including those related to clothing and uniform, and can support the prompt resolution of complaints or concerns. Schools should engage regularly with pupils, parents and carers about their uniform and clothing policy and provide information about how concerns can be raised.

Where concerns or complaints do arise, these should be dealt with in line with local complaints procedures. Where appropriate, schools should continue to engage positively with pupils, parents and carers to try to resolve concerns or complaints with minimal disruption to learning.

Where there is a concern that a school has failed to discharge a statutory legal duty related to education, any interested party can make a complaint to Scottish Ministers. Further information is available in the Scottish Government’s guidance on section 70 complaints.

Where it is alleged that a pupil has been discriminated against on the basis of a protected characteristic, the 2010 Act provides a mechanism for a claim to be raised. How these claims are considered will depend on which protected characteristic the claim is being made in relation to.

• Information about claims related to all protected characteristics is available here: Equality Advisory and Support Service (equalityadvisoryservice.com) and Problems at school – Citizens Advice
• Information about claims relating to disability discrimination of pupils in school education is available here: Making a Claim | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber)