Rachel Reeves has been accused of letting the cat out of the bag amid criticism of Labour’s planned changes to school uniforms.
Labour wants to bring in new legislation limiting the number of branded items a school can request parents buy for their children.
Bridget Phillipson plans to limit the amount of both branded uniform and PE kits to just three items, which she insists is a measure that will help hard-up parents with the .
However she’s facing major warnings that the policy will have dire side effects, including stigmatising poorer pupils.
Critics of the plan argue that school uniforms level wealth inequalities by allowing less well-off pupils to look the same as their wealthier peers.
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Rachel Reeves appeared to point out a problem with a flagship Labour policy (Image: Getty)
Campaigners against the policy now claim they have unearthed comments from which make this exact argument and undermine the claims from the Education Secretary.
In 2022 the then-Shadow Chancellor to the Observer newspaper while visiting a school in her constituency: “You look at the kids and you just think, I know you are poor.”
“You can see it in the school coats, especially in the winter, and in the school shoes. Kids not wearing the proper school uniform, sort of a bit mix-and-match, and it is really sad.”
Campaigner and chairman of the Schoolwear Association, Matthew Easter, told the Express this shows that the Chancellor “knows we’re right”.
“The government’s arbitrary cap on the number of branded uniform items will result in more pupils not wearing ‘proper uniform’ and have significant adverse effects on pupils, undermining the welfare and attainment benefits that uniform is there to preserve.
“Schools work hard to understand what works best for their community and the Education Secretary should be supporting them to cater for their most disadvantaged pupils, not imposing excessive bureaucratic measures that will reduce education standards and inadvertently increase costs.”
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Bridget Phillipson’s educational reforms are facing criticism (Image: Getty)
Conservative shadow schools minister Neil O’Brien told the Express: “Labour’s micromanagement is set to backfire.”
“What is likely to happen is that parents will end up replacing school uniform PE kit with more expensive sportswear, and it will cost them more.
“As even Labour ministers have acknowledged, school uniform is a social leveller, and when you take it away, it actually highlights the differences between children, and that in turn creates pressure on parents to spend more getting them branded goods.”
Last week the Daily Express also revealed polling that suggests school leaders believe the move by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson will have a damaging effect on pupils’ mental health.
Shocking research reveals that school absences rise by a whopping third on non-uniform days, suggesting children face such anxiety about picking the ‘right clothes’ that they’d rather stay at home.
The survey also found that 88% of school leaders say branded uniform items reduce visible inequalities, preventing a divide opening up between pupils wearing fashionable branded sports kids and those whose parents can only afford supermarket basics during PE.
In addition, 78% of school leaders report that school-specific items improve behaviour and academic performance in the classroom.
A Treasury source insisted: “The Chancellor’s position is consistent with the school uniform policy.”