School Uniforms: Is Your Policy At Risk of Breaking the Law?

By: Paul Kellaway (Competition & Markets Authority)

School uniforms can provide students with a sense of identity and belonging to a community. However, for many families across the UK, purchasing school uniforms is a significant and unavoidable expense, alongside the additional costs of childcare and entertainment during the summer holidays. As a governing body or head of school, it’s important to consider several factors when reviewing your school’s uniform policy.

At the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), we’ve examined the impact of school uniform policies over the years and have advocated for schools to ensure their policies do not overly restrict the options available to parents and carers. For instance, some families are required to purchase what they see as unnecessarily branded uniform items, often from suppliers or retailers with exclusive agreements with schools.

What may surprise some schools and governing bodies is that overly restrictive policies may, in fact, be in violation of competition law…

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