ANDREW GWYNNE'S COLUMN: 'Parents are struggling with school uniform costs'

It’s been a busy start to the year, and last week in Parliament, I was delighted to vote in support of the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill. 

This piece of legislation is the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation and ensures that children growing up in our country are given the best possible start, with better teaching, better safeguarding, improved curriculum, and better protections to help parents with the cost of living.

The bill makes changes to improve the numbers of teachers in classrooms and overhauls the national curriculum to ensure children are learning for and prepared for the world of the future. 

As well as updating the framework for pay and conditions within schools, enabling them to have the same flexibility academies have in recruiting and retaining the best staff.

Whilst these changes are vital for improving schools and delivering the best teaching for children, in my conversations with parents and teachers in Tameside, I hear all too often how parents are struggling with the cost of living when it comes to school uniforms, where branded items can be expensive and can only be purchased from specific shops. 

We are now restricting the number of branded items that schools can require as part of their uniform, allowing parents to buy unbranded items at lower prices from a wider variety of stores. 

With these caps introduced, this will save parents anywhere up to £50 a school year in uniform costs.

We all know the importance of a good breakfast, and across the UK and Tameside, it is a sad fact that many parents are struggling to put quality breakfast on the table. 

When children miss breakfasts, their grades fall, their attendance falls, and they fall behind their peers who do receive breakfast. 

This situation is unfair; every child deserves a fair start in life and to be given the same opportunities as other children. 

That’s why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs to all UK schools, giving parents the option to place their children in a breakfast club, potentially saving them up to £450 a year, and giving disadvantaged pupils the base they need to succeed.

I’m pleased to be part of a government that is placing our children at the heart of government and delivering for every child and family, across Tameside, and across the UK.