School uniform: costs down, but branded items persist

More than a fifth of parents report that their school requires at least four branded items of uniform, despite the introduction of guidance that schools should keep branded items ‘to a minimum’. This is among the findings of the Department for Education’s (DfE) latest study of school uniform costs Cost of School Uniforms Survey 2023.

This research was commissioned to assess whether the relative cost of school uniforms has changed since the previous Cost of school Uniforms 2015 study, and to assess the impact of the statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms, which was published by the government in November 2021. The study drew on a telephone survey,   conducted between November 2023 and January 2024, of a representative sample of 1207 parents/carers of children - aged 4 to 16 - attending state funded schools in England.

The survey found that, once inflation has been taken into account, the average cost of most items of uniform had decreased since 2015. The average total expenditure on all school uniform and PE kit items in 2023 was £373.24, compared to an inflation adjusted figure of £387.44 for 2015. Costs for parents were reported to be lower where they had the freedom to purchase uniform from a wide range of outlets rather than from a specified provider – the guidance tells schools to avoid single supplier contracts for uniform. Additionally, more schools (65 per cent) are now making second hand uniform available to purchase than were doing so in 2015 (32 per cent).

However, despite the real terms decrease in average total expenditure, there has also been a significant downward trend in satisfaction with the cost of school uniform and PE kit. While 56 per cent of parents/carers were ‘very happy’ or ‘quite happy’ with the cost of school uniform and PE kit in 2023, this compares with 69 per cent in 2015 (which itself was a drop from 75 per cent in a 2007 survey). The report notes that uniform costs will be assessed by families in the context of other costs they incur, and that recent cost of living pressures are likely to have caused families to see uniform costs as less affordable.

The statutory guidance introduced in 2021 emphasised the importance of reducing uniform costs, and as part of this indicated that schools should minimise compulsory branded items. Overall the survey found that primary schools required an average of 2.35 branded items, and secondaries an average of 2.91. However, there was wide variation. Asked in the survey how many branded items were required by their school, 11 per cent of primary parents/carers and 12 per cent of secondary said five or more, while 8 per cent of primary and 13 per cent of secondary parents/carers said they required four. Thus at least four branded items are required by 19 per cent of primary respondents and 25 per cent of secondary respondents.

Since the statutory guidance was introduced in 2021, 18 per cent of parents and carers said they had experienced changes in their child’s uniform. This was more likely for pupils at secondary academies (27 per cent) than maintained secondaries (20 per cent) and primary schools (15 per cent). Despite the guidance stating that schools should involve parents/carers when changes were made to uniform, only 43 per cent of those reporting changes said they had been consulted about them by their school. According to respondents, uniform changes made since 2021 were also generally as likely to increase the overall cost of the uniform as decrease it. The precise impact of the 2021 guidance therefore remains somewhat unclear.

The full survey can be read here: https://tinyurl.com/3z39jdzk