School Uniform Legislation
In February 2025, the Minister of Education, Paul Givan MLA, introduced the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill to the Assembly, with the aim of making uniforms more affordable for families and to ensure that the cost of a uniform is never a barrier to a child applying to the school of their choice.
The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill completed the Final Stage of the Assembly’s legislative process on 13 October 2025 and is awaiting Royal Assent.
The Bill places a duty on the Department of Education to publish statutory guidelines which all school must adhere to. These statutory guidelines will replace the current Departmental guidance, which is non-statutory (circular 2011/04).
The link below is to draft School Uniforms Guidelines. The guidelines will remain in draft until the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill receives Royal Assent. At that point, the Department of Education will re-issue them and confirm that they are statutory and will be operational for the 2026/27 school year.