Tag: cost of living crisis

School Ties and the Cost-of-Living Crisis

Introduction

Drapers: tie compulsory £4.50 ~ Drapers’ Academy – Smarty Pants Schoolwear

Harris Academy, Rainham: tie compulsory for boys (not girls) £7:95 ~ Harris Academy Rainham – Khalsa Schoolwear

Sacred Heart Of Mary: tie compulsory £10 ~ Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School – SchoolSports4U

Discussion

Making school ties compulsory emphasises their necessity. ‘Compulsory’ school ties, implies there are no circumstances when they stop being essential.

Two of Havering’s academies don’t understand this. Harris Academy Rainham has a school tie policy, which makes them compulsory for male students.1 Obviously this means female students, in the same classrooms and following the same learning activities, are treated significantly differently. The benefits bestowed by a school tie are non-essential for females because they’re females.

At Sacred Heart of Mary’s Academy, which is all female, ties are compulsory but only for six months of the year. During the hotter months ties are not worn. How the Academy discovered that weather decides when a tie is essential to education, or discipline, or the school ethos is fascinating. Just how did they do it? What scientific experiment was followed? Will they publish the data?

Does it matter? It matters a great deal because compulsory school uniform is a tax/entry fee.2 Ties must be bought yet the policies underpinning that tax/entry fee is arbitrary and inconsistent. These two schools have policies which are absurd and indefensible. Students can, and are, excluded from classrooms for ‘improper’ school uniform. The policy is ridiculous. Ridiculing it by students is a disciplinary breach and is fiercely punished. Academies are trapped in an historic time-warp.

School attendance is compulsory and wearing school uniform is a necessary part of attendance. Obeying the law obliges parents/guardians to buy the designated uniform. Many items have to be bought from a specified shop (see Introduction). The cost of school uniforms is controversial.2 As can be seen from the introduction, there are considerable differences in cost on even basic items like the school tie. The Drapers’ Academy tie is less than half that of the Sacred Heart of Mary3 with the Harris Academy Rainham at a sort-of midpoint.

Conclusion

Harris Academy Rainham relies on gender to make sense of its school tie policy. On the other hand, Sacred Heart of Mary relies on the weather. Both are indefensible. And parents/guardians have to pay. Given that Academies are places of learning you might think that policies would be intelligently reviewed. An immediate outcome would be to reduce the tax/entry fee for compulsory education.

Britain’s new Prime Minister routinely wears T-shirts in public. Andy Burnham is a vivid illustration that the world has changed and schools should ‘catch-up’. And the House of Lords have just announced that ties are no longer compulsory for male peers.5

Addendum: An overview of appropriate clothing

This is a 3-minute YouTube video I did sometime ago School ties are a tax on learning – YouTube

Notes

1 Our Uniform – Harris Academy Rainham

2 It might not be a tax as not everyone pays e.g. girls at Harris Academy Rainham

3 According to information provided by parents, the new uniform includes a £34 blazer, a £24 branded skirt, purple check shirts costing £30 for two, plain purple shirts at £28 for two and an £8.25 tie. Frances Bardsley Parents Question Rising Uniform Costs as School Defends New Uniform Under 2026 Government Rules. – The Havering Daily

4 120 students entered this school in September 2026. Parents/guardians therefore spent £1200 on ties, which are used for six months pf the years.

5 Is the tie dead? Fashion connoisseurs hope not as House of Lords relaxes rules | House of Lords | The Guardian

Havering’s Academies: School Uniforms and the Cost-of-Living Crisis

The statutory guidance was published in November 2021 and advises, in order to keep the cost of uniforms down, for branded items to be kept to a minimum and for high street items to be allowed. It also states that second-hand uniform must be available, providing cost-effective and sustainable options.1 (my emphasis)

Abbs Cross, Hornchurch: “All items marked with a * must be purchased from the school supplier.” These include: blazer; tie; school jumper; rugby shirt and PE socks. The minimum cost is £83 and the maximum cost is £96.2

These additional items are compulsory.

  • Black trousers or skirt and socks/tights plus a white shirt
  • Polished black shoes – black laces, black stitching, black sole and heel3
  • Appropriate jacket or coat
  • PE polo top; PE joggers; PE shorts plus PE fleece jacket. All with school logo
  • Swim shorts/suit plus swim cap

Logos increase costs and Abbs Cross breaches government guidance.

Sacred Heart of Mary, Upminster: “Dark navy blue pleated skirt or navy trousers. These items are available only from the School Shop. Other items can be bought elsewhere. Navy leggings with School Badge Blue fitted Polo Shirt with School Badge  Netball Skirt with School Badge Gym Shorts – All have to be bought from the school shop.” (my emphasis)

They follow government guidance quite well.

It’s cheaper attending Sacred Heart because fewer items are sold non-competitively. Helpfully, fewer items require logos.


Marshalls Park, Romford: “Uniform is not fashion-orientated and, should individual items of clothing be deemed inappropriate, we will contact parents/carers.”5 Only the school badge and tie are purchased from their Resources department. Their uniform policy is prescriptive but good efforts to reduce the cost burden are in place.

This academy fully complies with government guidance.

 

Conclusion

School uniform is a tax on learning. Children must attend school in uniform. The government’s attempt to mitigate costs aren’t universally obeyed. Worse, control-freakery6 adds to the costs for hard-working families. Parents/carers should make representations to the governors about this scandal.


Addendum: Government guidance on dress codes

Consult widely on a proposed school dress code policy (or any changes to a policy) with pupils, parents/carers, school staff and governors including making use of school assemblies and school councils to achieve respect for diversity and an ethos of inclusion. Include school staff in the development of the policy in order to achieve consistency across the school in applying the dress code.

Ensure the items of clothing in the dress code being proposed are affordable for all who wish to attend the school.1

 

Notes

1 School uniform | NEU

2 Abbs Cross Academy – School Uniform Direct Loxford Group includes Abbs Cross and four secondary academies. Having a sole supplier is worth an estimated £500,000 in ‘tethered’ i.e. non-competitive sales.

3 For a discussion of Havering’s academies control freakery on shoes see Havering’s Academies: School Shoes and Shoe Laces – Politics in Havering

4 Uniform | SACRED HEART OF MARY This academy is last in the list of Havering’s academies and wasn’t chosen to make a  point.

5 Uniform-Policy-May.pdf (marshallspark.org.uk)

6 The use of logos on clothing is a classic example; hyper specific descriptions of shoes are another.