PAT welcomes school uniform guidance

20 March 2007

The Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) has  welcomed the latest guidance on school uniforms from the DfES.

PAT General Secretary Philip Parkin said: “I hope that this guidance will provide much-needed clarity and support for schools.

“However, I am concerned that the media focus is on the possibility of 'banning' a small number of pupils from wearing veils rather than emphasising the importance of schools working with local communities to find acceptable solutions that accommodate safety, security and religious belief, and are compatible with a learning and communicating environment.

“I am pleased that the guidance encourages schools to consult and be sensitive to issues of both culture and cost, while backing their right to have uniforms and, where necessary, discipline those who do not wear them.

“School uniforms can help to improve pupil behaviour by creating a sense of  shared values and belonging within a school.

"A uniform can also remove peer pressure on pupils to conform to the latest fashion in clothes, enabling them to concentrate on their education.
 
“However, it is for individual schools to decide what works best for them and what their uniform policy should be.”