School uniform and clothing: a resource for pupils

School uniform and clothing information for children and young people

What is this resource about?

The Scottish Government has worked with others, including pupils, parents, carers and school staff, to create guidance for schools about school uniform and clothing. We’ve created this short guide for pupils to help you understand what the guidance asks schools to think about and how you could get involved in any decisions they make.

What do we mean by school clothing and uniform?

When we talk about school clothing or uniform, we mean anything that you wear when you are at school. That might be a uniform that you wear in the classroom, what you wear at PE or to take part in other practical subjects. It also includes what you wear on special occasions like ‘dress down days’ or school events.

“(school uniform should make you feel) part of a community…and equal to everyone” Pupil

Why has guidance been created?

What you wear to school is really important and your school will usually have rules about what you can or can’t wear. The guidance will help schools when they are thinking about what these rules might be.

Before we wrote the guidance, we asked pupils and adults what they thought about school uniform. There were lots of different views. The main things that pupils told us about were: comfort, cost, identity, choice, safety, consequences, and gender.

We heard from lots of parents, carers, teachers and school staff too. They talked about some of the same things as pupils. They also talked about other things, like protecting the environment, helping everyone to feel included, treating everyone fairly and having options for plain and simple clothing and uniform.

What does the guidance say?

School clothing and uniform should be comfortable and practical. It shouldn’t cost too much and should help protect the planet.

The guidance we’ve created will help schools when they are thinking about what pupils wear to school. It asks schools to remember to involve pupils and their families when they are making any decisions about clothing or uniform and gives them ideas about how to make sure everyone can have their say.

The guidance asks schools to think about certain things. We’ve summed them up below.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

This means that clothing for school should help everyone to feel comfortable and included, and no-one is treated unfairly because of their differences.

Affordability

This means that clothing for school shouldn’t cost too much so that everyone can have what they need to come to school and take part in all subjects and activities.

Sustainability

This means that clothing for school should help to protect our planet by reducing the number of things we throw away and helping clothes to be reused by others.

The guidance gives schools lots of suggestions about how to make sure that clothing for school doesn’t cost too much, helps to protect the planet and helps everyone to be comfortable and take part in all different subjects and activities. Some of these suggestions are:

• Think about the total cost of clothing school and make sure that it’s not too expensive to buy everything that’s needed for the whole year.
• Have plain uniforms that don’t have a school logo and can be bought in lots of different shops.
• Make more expensive clothes, like blazers or ties, optional.
• Have options for all genders.
• Help to get recycled uniform.
• Don’t change the rules too often.

You might have other ideas about what your own school could do. You could speak to someone at school, like your teacher or guidance teacher about your suggestions.

How can you get involved in decisions about school clothing?

You have lots of different rights at school. You can find out more information about your rights and how you can use them at this link: Activate Your Rights – Young Scot

One of your rights is to be able to talk about things at school that effect you. The guidance asks schools to make sure that they give pupils and their families lots of different chances to have your say about school clothing and uniform. This is especially important if your school is thinking about making a change.

There will be lots of ways that you can have your say. This might be as part of groups like the Pupil Council or by taking part in discussions or activities in class. Speak to someone at school, like your teacher or guidance teacher if you have ideas about how to get involved. There are lots of ways that schools can make sure everyone has their say. The Cost of the School Day Toolkit gives schools some handy tips about how they can get everybody involved.

How can schools support you to follow their clothing policy?

There isn’t a law in Scotland that says pupils have to wear a uniform at school, but all schools will probably have rules about what you wear and you should follow these when you can.

We know that there might be lots of reasons why some pupils might find it difficult to follow the school’s rules about uniform. This might be because of things that they can’t control. There also might be times when you feel worried about an activity or special event because of what you need to take part.

It’s really important that you talk to someone if you are worried about not having the right clothing for school. This could be a teacher, guidance teacher, classroom assistant or another adult at school. You could also speak to your parent or carer and ask them to talk to someone at school about the situation. They should be able to help to offer you or your family some extra support if it’s needed.

“Guidance will help families afford uniform.” Primary pupil

“The guidance will help all families to make sure young people are included and comfortable” Primary pupil

“The guidance will help students feel equal and included.” Secondary pupil