Cambridgeshire school selling 'branded socks' as councillor slams 'unacceptable' uniform policies

Councillors have proposed a crackdown on overly strict and expensive school uniform policies after it was revealed that one school was selling "branded socks".

Cambridgeshire County Council said schools should develop "fair and effective policies", as concerns were raised that some were not controlling uniform costs.

At a meeting on Tuesday, one councillor said recent government guidance on reducing the cost of school uniforms was not being followed by all schools in the county and described the situation as "unacceptable".

Michael Atkins said there was a “growing divergence” between schools that were “taking this seriously” and others that were “out of step with the recent guidance”.

He said some schools had made changes to require fewer branded items, but said he had also seen a school requiring “branded football socks along with five other items of branded uniform”.

He added that under half of the schools had directed parents to second-hand alternatives on websites, with many giving the “biggest priority” to the sole supplier of the uniform.

Mr Atkins said: “For some families the summer is a period of difficult financial challenges, including childcare, the cost of travel, and somewhat surprisingly school uniforms.

“One of the consequences of poor economic performance is the way it exposes practices which developed during better times to tougher conditions and - make no doubt about it - these are very tough conditions we are experiencing right now.

“Families of school children are facing a huge squeeze on their income from increased rent payments, mortgage payments, cost of food, utilities and just about everything else as well.

“It is in this context that there has been increasing national concern about the seemingly benign topic of school uniforms.

“Combined with the overall inflation in clothing costs the result has been a dramatic increase in the costs of school uniforms."

Mr Atkins added that he was “well aware” of the "pressures and expectations" placed on schools.

Fellow councillor Simone Taylor said things such as having sew-on badges, fewer branded uniform items, and increased access to second-hand uniforms were ways costs could be reduced.

Councillor Bill Hunt said the authority should help encourage schools to set up second hand shops for uniforms, saying children “grow up very quickly when at secondary school and they grow out of uniforms before they wear out”.

However, Councillor Samantha Hoy said there was some “personal responsibility” people needed to take - claiming she knew people who were choosing not to have children as they "cannot afford it".

The councillors voted unanimously for proposals to provide more help so schools could make changes.

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