Matthew Easter of The Schoolwear Association responds to the recent Observer news story on uniform prices, and offers reassurance for the schoolwear sector
While some parents were doing a last-minute dash to pick up school uniforms at the end of August, The Observer newspaper published an analysis showing that parents were paying more than double the price for branded schoolwear than for high street garments.
It’s a line often heard at back-to-school time in recent years, but focusing on the price is not telling the whole story, says Matthew Easter of the Schoolwear Association (SA).
“It’s very easy to make a broad statement about the comparative cost of two items, but if this is not put into context, it’s pretty meaningless. The debate about the cost of schoolwear garments from specialist uniform retailers versus the ‘high street’ is one raised every summer and, unfortunately, is often used as part of a sensationalist headline.
“The reality is, however, that as an industry we know that the garments we provide are high quality, longer lasting and provide real value to parents whose children will wear them for 195 days consecutively each year. They are also available all year round in a huge range of sizes that ensure that children are always able to access the right size and don’t feel disadvantaged versus their peers. The same cannot be said for ‘high street’ uniform items.”
Uniform caps
Another battle the schoolwear sector faces is Labour's manifesto promise to limit the number of uniform and PE kit that schools can require. “From experience, and the feedback we get from school leaders, we strongly disagree with this proposal for several reasons,” says Matthew.
“Branded items create equality and a level playing field in schools and without them pupils will end up wearing a wide variety of brands, colours and styles, which will only highlight social differences. Cheaper uniforms wear out faster and cannot be handed on, meaning greater and more regular purchases for parents, driving up costs.
“Schools rely on a structured uniform code including branded school uniforms to manage dress codes and behaviour. ‘Deregulating’ uniform will make this more difficult for them to manage. More scope on what items to buy will undoubtedly lead to ‘parent pressure’ to buy the latest in-fashion brands, which are far more expensive than branded school uniform items.
“And lastly, this proposal will mean that specialist uniform retailers lose out to big supermarkets even more, making it even harder to continue offering the valuable service to local communities that they currently provide.”
Data collected annually from members of the SA shows that schools have already reacted to the statutory guidance introduced in 2021, reports Matthew, resulting in a reduction in both cost and the number of branded items specified on average.
“Schools have also become much more active around second-hand uniform,” he notes.
“Prior to the guidance being introduced we were of the view that most schools were very responsible when setting their uniform policy so would not need to change it much or at all after the bill became law, but clearly there has still been a fair amount of change since that time.”
Pulling together
Matthew says that while it is difficult to predict precisely what the current government will put forward for schoolwear, the SA will continue to fight on behalf of the industry to try to ensure “a reasonable conclusion”.
He adds: “However, this will only be achieved effectively if more uniform retailers and suppliers become members of the SA and pledge financial support! Without everyone pulling together there is a real risk we will not be able to have the representation we need to influence effectively, so I would urge anyone who is not a member of the SA to join today or at the Schoolwear Show on 6 and 7 October.”
While there are a variety of topics being covered as part of the seminar programme at the upcoming show, the association's focus will be on updating visitors on the details of the bill as far as it knows them currently, along with its views of what the new government may be thinking about this, and the work the association has done and will be doing on behalf of the industry. “We will also have a general Q&A session on Sunday afternoon, with drinks afterwards.”
The schoolwear industry is still thriving despite the setbacks, and Matthew has confidence this will continue.
“Whilst the last few years have been challenging for different reasons and the pending bill on uniform will be another hurdle for our industry, it’s clear there is still universal support for school uniform as a concept and it is overwhelmingly advocated by school leaders across the UK. I’m therefore firmly of the view that our industry will continue to play an important part in the lives of children, parents and schools for many years to come.”
