England

School uniform policy

Official wording, responsibilities and review duties.

Requirement and scope

Choose the governance type; academy and maintained duties differ. Choose a phase; confirm age and provision conditions. Confirm locally: Has a school uniform.

Maintained school

Expected [1]

Should publish. Website publication within the stated scope. [3]

Source-established phases: Primary, Secondary, All-through, Special
Source-established school types: Mainstream school, Special school
EYFS condition: No separate EYFS condition stated
Accountable: not stated in the source
Approval: not stated in the source
Operational owner: not stated in the source
Review cycle: set by the school

Conditions: Has a school uniform.

Independent schools and pupil referral units are outside this catalogue’s supported governance mapping.

Academy or free school

Expected [1]

Should publish. Website publication within the stated scope. [4]

Source-established phases: Primary, Secondary, All-through, Special
Source-established school types: Mainstream school, Special school
EYFS condition: No separate EYFS condition stated
Accountable: not stated in the source
Approval: not stated in the source
Operational owner: not stated in the source
Review cycle: set by the school

Conditions: Has a school uniform.

Independent schools and pupil referral units are outside this catalogue’s supported governance mapping.

Publication is a statutory-guidance “should” conditional on a uniform being used. Have regard to the statutory cost guidance; this does not establish a universal must-publish policy.

Official wording

School uniform

Schools whose pupils are required to wear a uniform should publish an easily understandable policy on their website, in line with statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms.

What maintained schools must or should publish online · Reviewed 2026-10-26

School uniform

Academies whose pupils are required to wear a uniform should publish an easily understandable policy on their website, in line with statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms.

What academies and further education colleges must or should publish online · Reviewed 2026-10-26

Publishing the uniform policy

A school’s uniform policy should be: published on its website available for all parents, including parents of prospective pupils

Cost of school uniforms · Reviewed 2026-10-26

7.19 School uniform

The governing body decides whether there should be a school uniform and other rules relating to the appearance of its pupils. The guidance on school uniform contains further information. Schools and the governing body must have regard to DfE’s statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms when they develop and implement their school uniform policies. Schools and their governing bodies must make sure their uniform policies comply with the limit on branded items of school uniform and PE kit from 1 September 2026. The limit is set out in the Education Act 1996, as amended by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.

Maintained schools: governance guide · Reviewed 2026-10-26

Sources and updates

Official evidence reviewed 2026-10-26. Check the source edition and conditions before acting.

Cost of school uniforms
Reviewed edition matches. Source text matches the reviewed edition.
Reviewed on
2026-10-26
Reviewed version
2026-07-06T09:30:04+01:00
Last checked
2026-10-27T11:00:36.203Z
Reviewed text digest (SHA-256)
dfc7f04fde8671f3fa1815f72aa17e2f4bbdc470ec11bdf46eafcf0be01a238a
Official content identity
08c05959-c6d7-42a0-9e8f-208ee8abdb8b
Official content digest (SHA-256)
b137528d2b107c43e367ee49b77e40a766d73e19efeeb062a5050f22275078b7
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms
Track updates in the Roundup
Maintained schools: governance guide
Reviewed edition matches. Source text matches the reviewed edition.
Reviewed on
2026-10-26
Reviewed version
2026-07-15T15:01:39+01:00
Last checked
2026-10-27T11:00:36.203Z
Reviewed text digest (SHA-256)
e52a8a3de45c63b134d0ebf973be1ac134e940f50648449b0251fde69c0d7046
Official content identity
5e3468ca-6e6f-4b22-926e-9f851ba2d630
Official content digest (SHA-256)
1d3f2f6c58228e0a50a9591032bcf659d1f5c1c9da375fc1053abb88fdb64829
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintained-schools-governance-guide/maintained-schools-governance-guide
Track updates in the Roundup
What maintained schools must or should publish online
Reviewed edition matches. Source text matches the reviewed edition.
Reviewed on
2026-10-26
Reviewed version
2024-10-24T13:22:43+01:00
Last checked
2026-10-27T11:00:36.203Z
Reviewed text digest (SHA-256)
b9b1f18649ff2aa39b0a9df87f62c3aeb29bb48753d2bb174e50a411ac33a1f0
Official content identity
601afc48-7631-11e4-a3cb-005056011aef
Official content digest (SHA-256)
b3b7c2dedfb7e1fe1d249c685ca0f56f901e00aef72bbc7fba327afd2ccf9596
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online
Track updates in the Roundup
What academies and further education colleges must or should publish online
Reviewed edition matches. Source text matches the reviewed edition.
Reviewed on
2026-10-26
Reviewed version
2024-10-24T13:22:46+01:00
Last checked
2026-10-27T11:00:36.203Z
Reviewed text digest (SHA-256)
c97340181ef278fa159ebd90b83d1f974cfc65dd3107bfb3379793aec044b7df
Official content identity
805a09d7-7542-41b7-aefe-1b0935777e49
Official content digest (SHA-256)
48649d639b13916fb1950e252294ddcfb0016986359c01fe4842291a81faba96
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-academies-free-schools-and-colleges-should-publish-online
Track updates in the Roundup

Guidance, not legal advice. Local checks are not a compliance judgement; other duties may apply.