Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has carried out any form of assessment of the number of state-funded schools where religious items or articles of clothing form part of the school’s (a) pupil and (b) staff uniform policy.

David Laws

The Department for Education has not conducted any assessment of the number of state-funded schools where religious items or clothing form part of the uniform policy for pupils or staff.

It is for the governing body of each school to decide whether pupils should wear a uniform, and if so, what that should be. We do, however, expect schools to have full regard to their responsibilities under equalities law, and to act sensibly, fairly and flexibly in the interests of all their students in setting their school uniform policy.

Any dress code for school staff is an issue for the employer, whether that is the governing body or the local authority. As part of the general terms and conditions of employment agreed with employees, employers should consider an appropriate dress code, relevant to the individual setting, taking into account the requirements of the post and having proper regard to equality and diversity considerations.

School uniform guidance can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

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