P-05-877 Children's used uniform scheme, Correspondence – Petitioner to Chair, 13.05.19

Dear Sir/Madam

As a class we had a look at the letter from Kirsty Williams about school uniforms and we thought it had lots of good things in it. We are still worried that lots of these ideas are not statutory so local authorities might not follow them through.

We really want a recycled uniform scheme in each local authority to be statutory. We think it is such a good idea. It’s great to be able to apply for financial help for uniform if you are going into Year 3,7 or 10 but there are lots of families with children in other year groups that struggle with the cost of trainers for PE, jumpers with the school badge on or school dresses and trousers. Children are not going to want to borrow from a stock of extra kits that the school has brought - it will be embarrassing for them. If they were able to get what they needed from the council uniform bank, nobody would ever know that they couldn't afford to buy brand new.

Recycling school uniforms is so much better for the environment, we think this is important because we only have 16 years to make to act on climate change before it is too late.

We also think it is important to offer incentives to shops that promote offers on their school uniforms, like buy one get one free. Some people can afford uniforms, but if they have more than one child it can become expensive - especially if you have shoes properly fitted. Helping children get shoes that fit properly is important, and it will save money later on because less people will have medical problems with their feet when they are adults.

Thank you for reading our thoughts on this. More than anything, we think it is important that all local authorities should be made to recycle uniforms for the poorest people in our communities.

Many thanks,

The children of Topaz Class (Year 5 & 6)