Opinion: Will schools adopt advice on uniforms?

But will schools do as they are told? Under existing legislation, the intention of the Department for Education and Skills is not enforceable. School governing bodies, not central government, dictate whether or not a uniform has to be worn. And given the current direction of policy - with schools being given more freedoms, not less - we are unlikely to see the introduction of a national diktat on what schoolchildren are expected to wear.

Government plans for school uniform may turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. In the past, the DfES has struggled to get governing bodies to toe the line on uniforms. Governing bodies are supposed to ensure that school uniforms are not so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling socially excluded. But a web site survey conducted by the department last year found that nearly one in 10 parents had paid over 200 kitting out their children in uniform.