Speaking about the Minister for Education and Welsh Language’s announcement to tighten up guidance for governing bodies to make school uniform more affordable, David Evans, Wales Secretary for the National Education Union Cymru, said:
“It is welcome that the Education Minister has taken this step to try and help ensure school uniforms are not a barrier to children attending school. With the cost of living crisis as it is, families should not be having to spend precious money on special uniforms. The school uniform should be widely available as the guidance states.
“Our members will be heartened to see that the Welsh Government has been listening to us on school uniforms, as making school uniforms affordable was an ask in our manifesto, ahead of the last Senedd elections. Reducing the cost of going to school is important to our members.
“Whilst we fully support schools operating second hand uniform shops and so on, it would have been welcome for the Welsh Government to support this. As we know, schools have limited resources, so asking them to do extra, without extra funding to do so, will be a challenge in some areas, and should be addressed.”