Cost of school uniforms
Statutory guidance on developing a school uniform policy and managing uniform suppliers to ensure the cost of uniforms is reasonable.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This guidance is for:
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academy schools
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maintained schools
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non-maintained special schools
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pupil referral units
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local authorities
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governing boards
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city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts
Statutory guidance sets out what schools and local authorities must do to comply with the law. They should follow the guidance unless they have a very good reason not to.
This guidance contains both statutory guidance and draft statutory guidance. The draft statutory guidance is presented in highlighted text boxes.
The draft statutory guidance relates to the proposed limit on the number of branded items of school uniform and PE kit that schools can require.
The government intends to make this a legal requirement from September 2026 through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Schools are strongly advised to take the recommended limit into account now when planning uniform requirements for 2026.
The draft statutory guidance will be updated on completion of the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill’s passage through Parliament.
The Department for Education has also published guidance for schools on how to develop school uniform policy and procure supplies.
Updates to this page
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Updated the guidance, which now includes draft statutory guidance relating to the proposed limit on the number of branded items of school uniform and PE kit that schools can require.
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First published.