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05/07/2006
OFT launches study into school uniforms
The Office of Fair Trading has launched an inquiry into the school uniforms market, following a number of complaints about high prices and poor quality.
As part of the inquiry, the OFT has written to nearly 10,000 state schools in the UK to find out whether their uniforms policy allows choice on where to purchase the uniform.
The inquiry will aim to discover how many schools require parents to purchase uniforms either from a retailer designated by the school or the school itself rather than from school uniform retailers generally.
It will also assess whether such arrangements are more prevalent in any particular type of school, whether they have a detrimental effect on poorer families and whether they offer any benefits to schools.
Almost all state schools in the UK are required to wear a uniform of some description, with around half of all UK schools enforcing a strictly specified uniform. Uniform codes are generally the responsibility of a school's board of governors. State schools are currently free to appoint a manufacturer to produce school wear which the schools sell direct to parents, as well as also appoint retailers to source and sell school wear and inform parents of the general requirements of a uniform which they may purchase anywhere.
John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the OFT, said: "This study will allow the OFT to see whether exclusive contracts between schools and retailers have an adverse effect on the prices paid by parents, as well as the quality and value of school uniforms."
(KMcA/SP)
As part of the inquiry, the OFT has written to nearly 10,000 state schools in the UK to find out whether their uniforms policy allows choice on where to purchase the uniform.
The inquiry will aim to discover how many schools require parents to purchase uniforms either from a retailer designated by the school or the school itself rather than from school uniform retailers generally.
It will also assess whether such arrangements are more prevalent in any particular type of school, whether they have a detrimental effect on poorer families and whether they offer any benefits to schools.
Almost all state schools in the UK are required to wear a uniform of some description, with around half of all UK schools enforcing a strictly specified uniform. Uniform codes are generally the responsibility of a school's board of governors. State schools are currently free to appoint a manufacturer to produce school wear which the schools sell direct to parents, as well as also appoint retailers to source and sell school wear and inform parents of the general requirements of a uniform which they may purchase anywhere.
John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the OFT, said: "This study will allow the OFT to see whether exclusive contracts between schools and retailers have an adverse effect on the prices paid by parents, as well as the quality and value of school uniforms."
(KMcA/SP)
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