Parents of over four million children are set to benefit from lower school uniform costs, new government analysis has found.

As the government’s landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill proceeds in the House of Lords this week, analysis shows new laws will wipe over £70 million off the cost of uniform for families across the country.

It comes as a new survey shows a third of parents are still worried about uniform costs, with one in five schools said to have actually increased the number of branded items required over the past year.

While currently schools are required to ‘limit’ the number of branded items they require, today’s survey shows almost half are not doing so.

Parents are having to pay £442 on average to kit a child out for secondary school, and £343 for primary school, putting unnecessary financial pressure on families.

To cut those costs for families and break down barriers as part of the government’s Plan for Change, new proposed laws will limit the number of branded, typically more expensive, items schools can require to three – excluding ties.

Lowering uniform costs is just one of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will strengthen safeguards for vulnerable children, put more money back in parents’ pockets including through free breakfast clubs, and bring every school up to the standard of the best.

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said:

Looking smart at school shouldn’t cost the earth, and no parent should be forced to choose between buying family essentials and a school shirt or tie.

Alongside our free breakfast clubs, these new laws will save parents hundreds of pounds a year, and make sure family finances have no bearing on children’s time at school.

This bill is about keeping children safe, saving parents money and bringing every school up to the standard of the best, so we can break down barriers to opportunity and deliver our Plan for Change.

The new uniform laws will save parents £50 a year in their back-to-school shop, which alongside the measure to introduce free breakfast clubs in all schools, will put £500 back into the pockets of parents. 

Today’s analysis shows parents of an estimated 4.2 million pupils across 8,000 schools will have more flexibility to choose where they purchase their school uniform with the introduction of the cap.

Uniform can create a sense of identity and pride for pupils but it can also be a source of anxiety and in some cases even impacts school attendance.

Lynn Perry MBE, CEO of Barnardo’s, said:

Barnardo’s welcomes the cap to the number of branded uniform items required by schools. It cannot be right that children are going to school wearing ill-fitted clothes or shoes due to the high cost of uniforms – but, as high prices continue to impact families, it’s yet another essential item that parents are struggling to afford.

We look forward to seeing even bolder action in the upcoming child poverty strategy to tackle the number of children growing up in poverty.

Existing statutory guidance on school uniform means all schools must consider and aim to minimise the cost on parents – but the new cap on branded items will take this even further.

This government is determined to deliver on its Plan for Change to break the link between background and success – because a child’s background should not be what shapes their future.