School Uniform at The Three Schools aims to:

Our schools' legal duties under the Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination against an individual based on the protected characteristics, which include sex, race, religion or belief, and gender reassignment.

To avoid discrimination, our school will:

• Avoid listing uniform items based on sex, to give all pupils the opportunity to wear the uniform they feel most comfortable in or that most reflects their self-identified gender
• Make sure that our uniform costs the same for all pupils
• Allow all pupils to have long hair (though we reserve the right to ask for this to be tied back)
• Allow all pupils to style their hair in the way that is appropriate for school yet makes them feel most comfortable
• Allow pupils to request changes to swimwear for religious reasons
• Allow pupils to wear headscarves and other religious or cultural symbols
• Allow for adaptations to our policy on the grounds of equality by asking pupils or their parents to get in touch with Mr David May (Executive Headteacher) by email office@swanbourneceschool.org or by phone 01296 720295 who can answer questions about the policy and respond to any requests 

Limiting the cost of school uniform

Our school has a duty to make sure that the uniform we require is affordable, in line with statutory guidance from the Department for Education on the cost of school uniform.

We understand that items with distinctive characteristics (such as branded items, or items that have to have a school logo or a unique fabric/colour/design) cannot be purchased from a wide range of retailers and that requiring many such items limits parents’ ability to ‘shop around’ for a low price.  

We will make sure our uniform:

• Is available at a reasonable cost
• Provides the best value for money for parents/carers

We will do this by:

• Carefully considering whether any items with distinctive characteristics are necessary
• Limiting any items with distinctive characteristics where possible for example, by only asking that the school jumper/cardigan features the school logo
• Limiting items with distinctive characteristics to low-cost or long-lasting items, such as PE T-Shirts or Hoodies.
• Considering cheaper alternatives to school-branded items, such as plain jumpers/cardigans or PE Hoodies, T-Shirts, shoes or trainers.
• Avoiding specific requirements for items pupils could wear on non-school days, such as coats, bags and shoes
• Keeping the number of optional branded items to a minimum, so that the school’s uniform can act as a social leveller
• Avoiding different uniform requirements for different year/class/house groups
• Avoiding different uniform requirements for extra-curricular activities
• Considering alternative methods for signalling differences in groups for interschool competitions, such as creating posters or labels
• Making sure that arrangements are in place for parents to acquire second-hand uniform items
• Avoiding frequent changes to uniform specifications and minimising the financial impact on parents of any changes
• Consulting with parents and pupils on any proposed significant changes to the uniform policy and carefully considering any complaints about the policy