Labour has vowed to bring down the cost of buying school uniforms as it’s warned parents could be forced to spend more than £5,100 kitting out their kids because of rising prices.
Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson promised to tackle the problem as a “matter of urgency” if she gets into power. A Labour government would restrict the number of branded school uniform items, such as blazers, ties and sports kits that schools can require pupils to buy.
An analysis by the party shows that families with a child starting in Reception are projected to spend more than £5,165 on school uniforms over the course of their education if prices continue to rise at the same rate and they buy new clothes every year.
The costs have rocketed with uniform prices for secondary school pupils increasing by a quarter in the last three years alone. Labour has said it will toughen rules so schools can only require pupils to buy a maximum of three branded items of uniform or PE kit.
Ms Phillipson said: "Families are fed up with not feeling better off after 14 years of the Conservatives. Not content with crashing the economy, the Conservatives have also failed to tackle school uniform rackets hitting parents in the pocket, so Labour will take tough and urgent action in the interest of families’ finances.
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“We will, at a stroke, change statutory guidance for schools to stop parents from having to shell out thousands of pounds for multiple items of branded uniform.”
It comes as Labour this week will unveil plans to tackle the challenge of children missing school. A poll conducted for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found almost a third of parents believe it is not essential for children to attend school every day The think tank's report, which questioned 1,206 parents during December 2023, found 28% felt that way, and only 70% of parents are confident their child's needs are being met - a figure which drops to 61% at secondary school.
Ms Phillipson said: "It's deeply concerning that we're seeing really high levels of absenteeism amongst children in our schools. I believe that parents have responsibilities to make sure their children are at school, because every day counts and it damages children's life chances when they're not in school."
She said Labour would introduce better support around mental health, breakfast clubs in primary schools and "a reset of the relationship between schools and families, and between schools and Government".