Schools have been told to appoint a point of contact for families needing support with uniform. Government guidance also suggests setting requirements banning 鈥渧isible logos or branding鈥 on PE kit to reduce costs and 鈥減eer pressure to wear designer sportswear鈥. Meanwhile, governing boards have been told to be aware of the needs of pupils with SEND and 鈥渃onsider whether certain items of clothing could create challenges鈥 for them. This comes as leaders prepare for changes as part of Labour reforms next year limiting the amount of school-branded uniform children will have to wear. Staff point of contact The tweaked guidance on developing uniform policies now recommends that consideration should be given to how schools 鈥渨ill support pupils who do not have the correct鈥 gear. This includes 鈥渨hich members of staff will be a point of contact for families and pupils who need support with uniform鈥 and the action they will take if a child 鈥渇aces bullying or discrimination鈥 over their clothing. The guidance, which is non-statutory, also tells schools to 鈥渃onsider whether to make their position on political impartiality clear鈥 in their policies. This includes 鈥渞ules around badges or other items supporting causes or organisations being fixed to uniform items鈥. When doing this, leaders will need to be aware of 鈥渉ow it aligns with human rights and equalities legislation鈥 and pupil wellbeing, among other things. Designer PE kits The Department for Education also believes schools should think about 鈥渟etting requirements that reduce peer pressure to wear designer [PE] sportswear and avoid extra cost for parents鈥. An example of this is 鈥渟tating in their policy that items should not have visible logos or branding鈥. In addition, consideration should be paid to how PE kits support 鈥渋nclusion and participation and engagement for all pupils鈥. The DfE suggests this can be done by 鈥渙ffering pupils a choice of items so they feel comfortable鈥 or by 鈥減romoting the importance of girls wearing sports bras when taking part鈥 in sport. The department also told schools to 鈥渃onsider the link between uniform and attendance鈥. As part of this, 鈥渘ot having clean uniform or PE kit can result in bullying, which can also lead to poor attendance鈥. Leaders should think about 鈥渨hat action they can take to support attendance in such cases鈥. SEND consideration The guidance added that governing boards 鈥渟hould be aware of the needs of pupils with special educational needs or disabilities and consider whether certain items of clothing could create challenges鈥 for them. To help this they should review 鈥渨hat flexibilities, adaptions, adjustments or alternatives might mitigate any negative impact on these pupils鈥. They can also adopt 鈥渁 more comfortable or less restrictive uniform鈥 or a 鈥渕ore flexible policy that allows pupils to choose from a range of items鈥.