Debate contribution: School Uniforms: Affordability

Debate contribution by Mr Pat Sheehan on 5 March 2024.

MLA: Mr Pat Sheehan
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 5 March 2024
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: School Uniforms: Affordability
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4252474

Text

I beg to move
In the last few weeks of every summer, hard-pressed parents, already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, face further financial hardship trying to afford back-to-school costs. In its annual school costs survey, the Irish League of Credit Unions found that 20% of parents say that they sacrifice spending on food to cover the costs of their children going back to school.
The survey also found that uniforms are the single biggest expense for parents during the school year, followed by lunches and then transport.
Research from the parent engagement group in summer 2022 found that the average cost of a post-primary-school uniform in the North was £378, and that is probably quite a conservative estimate. Save the Children would say that it is much more expensive than that. With inflation over the past 18 months or so, parents will face a significant increase in the cost of a uniform that will have a considerable impact on household budgets and family life. In fact, I listened to a single parent on the radio this morning, who has two children in post-primary education, and she said that it costs around £1,000 each year to put uniforms on their backs. The means-tested uniform grant available from the Education Authority amounts to £87·60 for under-15s, and £93·60 for over-15s — a fraction of the average cost for post-primary uniforms. That falls well below the uniform grants that are available to parents of post-primary-school children in other jurisdictions on these islands. The upshot is that families who are already suffering the most as a consequence of the cost-of-living crisis will be most impacted by back-to-school costs. Currently, schools' boards of governors set their school's uniform policy. However, in many instances, they choose to ignore guidance from the Education Department about uniforms. Indeed, in some cases, boards of governors have included items on their uniform lists that are totally unnecessary. Some boards of governors direct parents to use a single supplier of uniforms, which means that parents do not have the opportunity to take advantage of competitive pricing and purchase cheaper alternatives on the high street. Moreover, some schools — particularly, but not exclusively, in the grammar sector — insist on branded PE clothing, and that not only adds additional expense but acts as a barrier to some young people attending particular schools because parents know that the cost of uniforms and PE gear would be beyond their reach. Schools should adopt a uniform policy that aims to make uniforms as affordable as possible and avoids expensive add-ons. In Spain, for example, the default position is that schools are discouraged from having uniforms at all, and the vast majority of schools go along with that. However, others do prefer to have a uniform policy, and that is acceptable. Importantly, though, where schools opt to have uniforms, those uniforms must be generic and available on the high street. Some schools are also very inflexible on the issue of uniforms. We hear often of children being sent home because they did not have a particular item of uniform or they were wearing the wrong type of clothing. When my son was at post-primary school, he walked to school every day, there and back; probably a journey of about 1·5 miles. I bought him a pair of pure black trainers. They were not from a big brand name, but they were more comfortable for walking. In my view, they did not in any way contradict what I saw as the uniform policy, but he was sent home one day because he did not have what the school referred to as "a proper pair of shoes". Of course, a proper pair of shoes would have been much more uncomfortable for him on his journey to and from school. However, at the end of the day, I had to buy a pair of dress shoes for him. The most concerning aspect is that it is those families who can least afford the cost of school uniforms who are most disproportionately affected by the expense. It affects not just families who are on benefits. Often, when we have discussions about the affordability of uniforms, school meals or anything like that, it is presumed that we are talking about people who are on benefits. It actually affects the people who are on low incomes and just above the threshold of the eligibility criteria who really feel the pressure, especially if they have more than one child in post-primary school. It is time to stop placing a financial burden on those who can least afford it. It is time that the barriers that prevent some children accessing certain schools are removed. No child should ever be denied access to a school because his or her parents cannot afford the uniform. It is time for the Minister to take action. I commend the motion to the House, and we will also support the Alliance amendment.

823 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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