School clothing policies in state funded secondary schools in Scotland were analysed in terms of the style of the uniform, discipline, equality and children’s rights, what was banned and affordability.
CISRUL lead team member, Dr Rachel Shanks, has focused on the affordability of school uniform and support to families on low incomes through the school clothing grant in Scotland. She produced a briefing in 2020, Affordability of secondary school uniform in Scotland: Policy briefing and another briefing in 2022 School Clothing Grant in Scotland Policy Briefing.
The reasons that were given for school uniforms in state funded secondary schools in Scotland were:
- To foster school ethos, identity, pride and a sense of belonging
- To prevent competition, discrimination, reduce bullying and improve discipline
- For safety, security and to reduce truancy
- Financial benefits (cheaper than wearing own clothes)
- To enhance the reputation of the school
- To prepare young people for the workplace (employability)
- To improve attitudes to learning and improve standards
The current focus of the research is the affordability, sustainability and comfort of school uniform.
Current Work
Focusing on school uniform in a holistic way to consider:
- Affordability – the cost to those buying items and consideration to issues of exploitation of workers, child labour etc. in how garments are produced.
- Sustainability – thinking of this right through the supply chain, principles of fair and ethical trade and how/where garments are disposed of at end of use.
- Comfort – covering not only fabric and texture but also allergies, stigma, gender, transgender, culture, religious beliefs.
The short framework also puts this in the context of children’s rights and legislation.
At this stage we are trying to get feedback on the framework which could inform discussions at national, local and school levels. Below are links to the framework and the feedback form:
School Clothing Framework – feedback form
School Clothing – A framework for action
You can read more about the project and access publications on the School of Education page here.