Uniform cost puts some kids at risk (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Uniform cost puts some kids at risk

CHILDREN from low-income families risk being bullied and isolated if their parents cannot afford school uniform, according to a charity campaign.

The claim was backed by a Citizens Advice Bureau survey produced this week, which revealed most schools in Wiltshire require uniform to be worn. Some cost up to £200, and limited help is available for those in financial difficulties.

Kirsty Field, deputy manager of the West Wilts CAB, said: "Over the summer we have had at least half a dozen complaints from parents who cannot afford school uniforms.

"Some kids have been reluctant to go back to school because they won't be wearing the same clothes as their friends."

The report found one secondary school and eight primary schools in west Wiltshire offered no financial support or secondhand uniform service to parents.

In a letter sent to all headteachers, report author Sheila Venn said a coalition of charities, including the Citizens Advice Bureau and a teaching union, reported that children from low income families risked being 'isolated, stigmatised and bullied', because of uniform and other school costs.

St Laurence School in Bradford on Avon, Matravers in Westbury, Kingdown in Warminster, and John of Gaunt and The Clarendon College in Trowbridge all confirmed this week they do have a service to help poorer families.

At St Augustine's Catholic College no-one was available to confirm if any assistance was available and The George Ward School in Melksham said no system is in place but pupils are dealt with on an individual basis to see what help can be offered.

At most secondary schools the cost of certain items of clothing is higher than usual because only those embossed with the school logo are acceptable and these can only be bought from selected retail outlets, such as Scholars in Trowbridge. Most primary schools have uniform colours, with items bearing a logo as an option only.

Sanctions imposed for those who do not wear the correct clothes range from letters home to their parents to detentions. Dr Pam Stoate, headteacher at The George Ward School in Melksham, said: "To remove the school uniform would create problems because parents would have to buy designer clothes and that could make the poorer students stand out.

"Uniforms are in place for a reason so if pupils do not comply we would have to discipline them.

"First we would talk to the parents and if they did not work we would consider using isolation. However, it is not a major issue at our school."

It is not a statutory requirement for education authorities to provide financial assistance to buy school uniforms. Wiltshire County Council will provide help only in the most extreme of circumstances.