If uniform costs have been keeping you up at night, you’re not imagining it. Nearly one in ten parents have used a credit card or buy-now-pay-later just to kit their kids out for school (Money Wellness).
So, here’s what’s actually changing, and why.
From 1 September 2026, a new law comes into force in England: the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Under Section 35 of the Act, schools will no longer be allowed to require more than three branded uniform items per child, or four for secondary and middle schools if one of those is a tie (legislation.gov.uk). This covers everyday uniform, PE kit and school bags, and applies to every state school in England.
The Act is also specific about what counts as “branded”, it’s not just logos. An item counts if it carries the school name or crest, or if its colour, fabric or design means it can only be bought from one particular supplier (Gov.UK). That detail matters, because it closes a loophole schools might otherwise have used to keep costs high without a badge in sight.
This didn’t come out of nowhere. It was a manifesto commitment, and the government estimates the changes could cut over £70 million from the collective cost of uniforms for families across the country (Cheshire West and Chester Council). Officially, the Department for Education says some families could save up to £50 per child (BBC News).
Why it matters, beyond the pounds and pence.
Uniform cost isn’t just an inconvenience for some families. Research from the “Priced Out of School” report found that of all young people who’ve missed school because they didn’t have what they needed, 47% said it was specifically because they didn’t have the correct uniform or kit (CPAG). That’s nearly one in two.
So this law isn’t just about saving money, it’s about making sure a missing blazer never becomes a reason a child doesn’t walk through the school gate.
What it looks like in practice.
Some schools have already made the shift. Co-op Academy Belle Vue in Manchester has cut its average branded uniform cost from £101.94 to £53.97 by dropping items it didn’t need to keep compulsory (BBC News). One parent there told the BBC the change has saved her family £70 this year, with her youngest starting in September in a full uniform for free (BBC News).
But it isn’t universal yet. Around 23% of secondary schools in England will need to change their current uniform lists to comply by September (BBC News), and government survey data shows almost half of all parents (48%) still don’t know this change is coming at all (Money Wellness).
The education secretary has the legal power to direct a school to comply if it isn’t meeting the new limits (Parliament), so this isn’t guidance schools can quietly ignore. It’s law.
What the new rules don’t fix.
The cap limits how many branded items a school can ask for, it doesn’t make those items free. A blazer with a badge on it is still going to cost roughly the same amount, whichever school it comes from.
That’s exactly why the statutory guidance behind this law is explicit that schools must ensure second-hand uniform is genuinely available to families, not an afterthought, but a real, accessible option (Gov.UK).
This is where Uniformd fits in.
We built Uniformd because “make second-hand uniform available” shouldn’t mean a bin bag in the school office or a chaotic Facebook group. It should mean a proper shop, easy for parents to use, easy for schools to run, and built to keep good uniform moving from one child to the next instead of sitting in a landfill.
If your school already has a Uniformd shop, now is the time to use it, new rules or not, there’s real money to be saved before you buy anything new. If your school doesn’t have one yet, it’s a fair question to ask why. Get in touch to find out more!
