Latest news with #SchoolUniforms(GuidelinesandAllowances)Bill
Belfast Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
A neutral school uniform is ‘beneficial to all', committee hears
Members of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission put to MLAs that there should not be a requirement for boys and girls to dress differently. It came during an examination of the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill. The Bill, which was introduced at the Northern Ireland Assembly by Education Minister Paul Givan, aims to make school uniforms more affordable, and includes scope for a potential uniform price cap to be set in future. Giving evidence to the committee on Tuesday morning, Colin Caughey, director of public policy at the commission, recommended that the word inclusivity be added to clause two of the Bill in terms of setting out what it intends to do. Chief Commissioner Alyson Kilpatrick said times have changed. 'A lot of girls now will say they are much more comfortable wearing a neutral uniform and not being required to wear skirts for example,' she told MLAs. 'That would fall within inclusivity. All children should feel comfortable.' Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan asked for a view on including an option for girls to wear trousers instead of skirts to be included in the Bill to make it compliant with human rights law. Ms Kilpatrick said: 'It's clear that to require girls to wear skirts and boys to wear trousers or shorts, that is distinguishing between boys and girls for reason that isn't easily justifiable, certainly not anymore. 'It seems to me that there shouldn't be a requirement that boys and girls dress differently if the school wants to be inclusive, and if the department wants to require schools to be inclusive. 'There are all sorts of reasons why a neutral uniform would be beneficial to everybody.' The Bill is to make it a legal requirement for the Department of Education to make guidelines for schools; and for schools to follow those guidelines, addressing unfair costs aspects regarding their uniform requirements. But Ms Kilpatrick said she fears the Bill is too vague to bring any change in terms of the affordability of school uniforms. 'If you want something to happen, if you want it to change, there has to be specificity about what it is you're trying to change… if you simply say this is our idea of what might be appropriate then you're maybe giving too much discretion and allowing for a continuation of what happened before,' she said. 'Once you have made the decision as the department that you want things to change, I think you need to be prescriptive because nothing will change otherwise, and it becomes inconsistent across schools and what you have is a difficulty for the department to monitor what is happening at schools. 'Guidelines help, but guidelines must be, if they're going to change anything, statutory. You either have to have a statutory obligation to comply with the guidelines or you have it in the statutes so everyone knows exactly what it is that is being asked of them. 'If you want to see change, you have to be a lot clearer, and make it a requirement.'
Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Concerns over ‘upskirting' prompt amendment to Stormont bill on school uniform
The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill was formally introduced to the Assembly by Education Minister Paul Givan in February this year, with the bill completing its Second Stage on March 3.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Stormont Bill aims to make school uniforms more affordable
A new Stormont Bill is aiming to make school uniforms more affordable. The Bill, which was introduced at the Northern Ireland Assembly by Education Minister Paul Givan, also includes scope for a potential uniform price cap to be set in future. It is expected to have its second stage in the Assembly next month which will see MLAs debate the Bill before being scrutinised by the Stormont Education Committee in the third stage of the legislative process. Mr Givan described the introduction of the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill as a 'major step forward for parents and guardians across Northern Ireland'. 'I have listened to the concerns of parents, young people and children, and at a time of growing pressures on family budgets, I am extremely concerned that families are finding the cost of a school uniform a significant outlay, and that in some cases it deters them from applying for a particular school,' he said in a statement. The Bill is set to make it a legal requirement for the Department of Education to make guidelines for schools; and for schools to follow those guidelines, addressing unfair costs aspects regarding their uniform requirements. It also opens access to the clothing allowance administered by the Education Authority to pupils in independent schools. Mr Givan said once the new legislation is in place, it will remain for schools to determine whether to have a uniform and what that uniform should be. 'What the legislation will do is work in tandem with strengthened, statutory guidance to ensure that affordability is transparent and at the centre of school uniform policies,' he said. 'Schools will have to consult with parents and pupils, and then publish the rationale and cost of their uniforms, as well as the range of suppliers it can be bought from.' Mr Givan also said the Bill provides a 'scope' for a price cap on uniforms to be introduced. 'However, more work is to be carried out in relation to this,' he added. 'The cap could be in relation to numbers of branded items, such as PE kits, or in relation to the cost of an individual item or the overall uniform requirements.'
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
School uniforms could face price cap under new law
A new law aims to compel schools to explain to parents the reasons for the price of their school new bill was introduced by the Education Minister Paul Givan in the assembly on it will have to be debated and scrutinised by assembly members before it becomes law.A consultation carried out on the proposed new law attracted about 7,500 than three-quarters of respondents were in favour of making school uniforms affordable by law. But there were concerns over whether a "cost cap" on uniforms would work. Givan said the new bill provided "scope" for a price cap to be introduced, but that more work needed to be done on it."The cap could be in relation to numbers of branded items, such as PE kits, or in relation to the cost of an individual item or the overall uniform requirements," he said in a are already given guidance by the Department of Education (DE) that uniforms should "represent value for money for families".The existing guidance also advises schools "to keep costs to a minimum and ensure that items are available 'off the peg' from a number of retail outlets".But the new School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill will make it compulsory for schools to follow that guidance by law. Givan said that once the new legislation was in place "it will remain a matter for schools to determine whether to have a uniform and, if so, what that uniform will be"."What the legislation will do is work in tandem with strengthened, statutory guidance to ensure that affordability is transparent and at the centre of school uniform policies," his statement continued."Schools will have to consult with parents and pupils, and then publish the rationale and cost of their uniforms, as well as the range of suppliers it can be bought from."The minister said the new law would reduce the costs of school uniforms. But parents and others who responded to the department's consultation on it had called for a wide range of measures to be introduced to lower the cost of who responded said branding and logos on school uniforms were a particular said having to buy a branded uniform, or one with a school logo, made uniforms more expensive. 'Outdated and unnecessary' There was also some opposition to schools requiring pupils to wear PE kit made by a particular some respondents said branded uniforms were "often better quality and harder wearing".Some questioned whether school uniforms were needed at all, calling them "outdated and unnecessary" and "out of touch with modern society".Other respondents said that girls should have the option to wear trousers and "should not be forced to wear skirts".Following its introduction on Tuesday, the proposed new law is expected to be debated by MLAs in the assembly in March.
