Education Minister should instruct schools to stop brand name uniform items from single suppliers
By Hugh Scullion, 1st September 2026
The Workers Party is calling on the Education Minister to issue instructions to schools to stop expecting parents to buy expensive branded items of uniforms from named suppliers. Clearly the guidelines being issued following the consultation on school uniforms and lauded by the Minister and the Executive is not going to carry much weight with local schools. One parent in Magherafelt has complained that they were having to pay £90 for a primary one PE kit. This cannot be justified and the Minister must act now to stop this practice.
Parents are struggling to provide the necessities for their families and for schools to put such an additional financial burden on working class families is unacceptable. School are meant to be part of the community and have a duty to ensure that financial pressures are not exacerbated by this unnecessary expenditure.
Branded articles of uniform add no educational value whatsoever to children’s education, but they do place a significant financial burden on parents especially when there is more than one child in primary or secondary schools. School principals and boards of governors do not exist in a vacuum: they should recognise the financial crisis that exists and how families are struggling to make ends meet.
Unlike England, which has brought in a strict cap of three branded items for September 2026, Northern Ireland's statutory guidelines state that branded items must be "minimised" and generic options "prioritised." Because the law doesn't name a hard numerical limit, individual school boards retain significant discretion over what they consider minimal.
Having to provide branded kits from one of the largest sports companies is outrageous. Children do not need branded or fancy uniforms, and parents should not have to go into debt and skip meals to provide such unnecessary items of clothing. Shame on the schools for asking for them, and shame on the politicians for allowing this practice to continue.