‘Victorian’ school uniform policies that insist on pupils wearing expensive, impractical clothing must be updated, a Falkirk councillor has said.
Independent councillor Laura Murtagh says she accepts that having a school uniform is practical and sensible – but it also has to be comfortable for pupils and as inexpensive as possible for parents.
Cllr Murtagh wants to see Falkirk Council schools start to follow new Scottish Government guidance on uniform, which says schools should not be insisting on expensive, branded items, including blazers.
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While councillors cannot tell schools what their uniform policy should be, Cllr Murtagh hopes to encourage them to follow the national guidance by putting forward a motion at next week’s executive meeting.
Cllr Murtagh said: “What is very clear is that there are some significant differences between what the guidance says and some of the practices we have across Falkirk and there will have to be a bit of a transition.
“I’m not saying that anything will be banned and it’s not saying to schools ‘you must do this’, but it does encourage action.
“And it does give a clear expectation that schools should be adhering to the principles of national guidance and not just ignoring it, because at the moment they certainly don’t comply.”
She says it’s an issue that has been raised many times by parents, pupils and also staff who are having to spend time enforcing strict uniform rules.
She also believes it is wrong for children to lose time in class simply because they are not wearing a blazer.
Cllr Murtagh said: “At the moment, or certainly in the recent past, there are certain schools where if you turn up without a blazer you are struggling to get in the door.
“I know that pupils have been given detention or negative referrals and kids tell me that they are held back after assembly and miss 15 minutes of their actual lesson because they are getting a lecture about the fact that they’ve turned up without a blazer on.
“So, they are prevented from accessing learning in order to be told ‘you need to come in a blazer’.
“To me, it’s very clear that you shouldn’t be preventing a child from doing a lesson because of a uniform issue unless it’s a health and safety issue.”
The new guidance accepts that school uniform has many benefits: it can help to support equity and inclusion, reduce stigma and peer pressure and can also make it easier to identify strangers on school premises.
Cllr Murtagh accepts this but says the idea of children being expected to dress smartly in shirt, tie and blazer belongs in a different age.
“Children are there to learn – that’s the priority. We don’t live in a Victorian age and it’s no longer appropriate.
“We just went through a pandemic where you had government ministers making decisions in their pyjamas!
She also questions how practical dry-clean only blazers are for pupils who are walking or cycling to school, especially in Scotland.
“The national guidance says we have to be encouraging outdoor play, outdoor learning and active travel – a blazer just is not appropriate any more,” she said.
“The focus has to be on uniform being affordable, sustainable, equitable and also on pupils’ comfort and happiness.
“This is a more common-sense approach.”
Cllr Murtagh’s motion will be heard at Falkirk Council’s executive on Thursday, November 7 at 10 am in Grangemouth Community Education Unit, Abbots Road.
The meeting will also be livestreamed on Falkirk Council’s YouTube channel.
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