17:28
Tieng Anh Vui
Schools in England will be told to take action to cut the cost of school uniforms to help hard-pressed parents.
Education minister David Laws is to issue new guidance to end the practice of using a single uniform supplier, enabling parents to shop around.
But the biggest teaching union said schools could merely ignore the "weak" orders, adding legislation was needed.
The Local Government Association has blamed soaring uniform costs on schools rebranding as academies with new logos.
Mr Laws, who will make the announcement at the Lib Dem conference in Glasgow, said the cost of uniforms was often "unnecessarily high" at a time when family budgets were being squeezed.
'Unnecessarily high'
He said: "School uniforms can be an important sign of identity and pride, but at a time when many family budgets are squeezed parents should not be forced to spend more than they need to.
"We will send a strong signal to schools that it is vital to secure value for money for parents before changing or introducing new school uniforms. Parents need to be able to shop around to find the best deal."
Mr Laws added: "I want to see fewer schools using single suppliers and branded items, which keep costs unnecessarily high."
Schools in England will be urged to stop using exclusive single supplier contracts, unless regular tendering processes are run to ensure firms provide value for money.
The guidelines will also say schools should not enter into 'cash-back' agreements with shops and compulsory items of uniform should be available relatively cheaply.
Branding should also be kept "to a minimum", the guidelines will say, and schools will be urged to avoid changing specifications frequently.
An Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation last year suggested 75% of UK state schools placed restrictions on where uniforms could be bought.
'Weak advice'
Such a move typically added £5 to the price tag for each item, leaving parents an estimated £52m a year worse off, the OFT said.
The announcement follows a Labour Party campaign to highlight the cost of school uniforms.
David Cameron has twice responded to calls for action on school uniform prices by Labour MPs at prime minister's questions, accusing them of wanting to undermine the government's flagship free schools programme.
He told the MPs schools should be free to set their own "tough and robust" uniform policies.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT - the largest teachers' union - said the coalition had scrapped rules forcing schools to restrict costs.
"Parents are now paying the price of the excessive freedoms this coalition has given to schools.
"This announcement largely repeats the guidance the Office of Fair Trading gave in a letter it sent to all schools last year, which many of them ignored.
"If the Liberal Democrats are serious about this issue they need to commit to issuing statutory guidance rather than weak advice."
But Russell Hobby, general secretary of National Association of Head Teachers, said: "Many schools go to great lengths to make their uniforms both smart and affordable; helping out where they can those families who struggle to afford them."
Last month, the Local Government Association said schools had a "moral duty" to keep costs down for parents.
It said schools which decided to alter their uniform - for example a newly-converted academy that decides to change its emblem - should restrict changes to one or two items or to sew-on logos.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment