The MP for Midsomer Norton has called on the Government to help drive down the cost of school uniforms which are ‘sold from Monopoly suppliers at an inflated price’.

Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrats, Frome and East Somerset) raised the issue of the cost of uniforms during the second reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Anna welcomed the Government’s commitment to limiting the number of branded items a school can require, but suggested they go further to help ease the burden on struggling families during her address on Wednesday, January 8.

Stating her own experience with two teenagers and the ever-changing needs of growing children as they progress through schooling, Anna recognised the positives of implementing a uniform which “allows pupils to go into school with the same appearance and not be discriminated against or bullied for what they wear”.

However, she pointed out that school uniform remains one of the biggest costs in sending children to school along with stationary, shoes and school trips.

At a time when families are struggling with rising energy bills and school breakfast clubs which recognise the strain some parents are facing, it’s imperative the extra burden around unnecessarily expensive uniforms is not added to their hardships, she said.

Anna said: “From my experience of sending my daughter to state school, branded school uniform items are being sold from monopoly suppliers for an inflated price, compared with the items bought from high street and charity shops.

“The bare minimum of three branded items of a jumper, a polo shirt and a skirt for my daughter’s school costs more than double that from a high street shop. For a family with three children to have two sets of three branded items per year costs more than £300, compared with £108 from my local supermarket — nearly three times as much. That does not even account for a sports kit and shoes, or for the fact that children often require new items each year as they grow.”

Anna suggested to the Minister that uniforms can and should be implemented in a way that allow parents to purchase them in the most cost-effective way possible. Pointing out that in many areas, schools operate on a three-tier system meaning children go through three different schools and therefore require three different uniforms across their school career.

She added: “We should aim to strike a balance between students looking smart and not making uniforms overly complicated and exclusive. The simpler the uniform, which is based on staple and easily available items and colours, the more reusable it is. We should foster an environment where school clothes can be easily handed down through families, regardless of gender, and exchanged between families, either through the school or through charity shops, instead of focusing on brand new items for each child. That also reduces clothing and textile waste.

“State schools should represent a level playing field for children of all backgrounds, where pupils are treated with the same respect and given the same opportunities.”