Why did ScotGov change its stance on new school uniform guidance?

The guidance also makes clear that it is ‘non-statutory’, which means that although schools are advised to follow it, nobody can actually be compelled to – but I soon learned that the original plan had been quite different, with the initial intention having been for the guidance to become statutory after schools had been given a bit of time to adjust.

You can clearly see the change in approach by comparing the final version of the guidance to a draft version. In the original document, a full paragraph explained that while the guidance would be "currently non-statutory", legislation would be introduced "later in the Parliamentary term" that would "place a legal duty on education authorities to have due regard to this guidance when developing, implementing, reviewing, and adapting their school uniform and clothing policies." 

This section has been completed deleted from the finalised document, which simply states that the guidance is non-statutory and moves on.

Comparing the draft version of the guidance (above) to the final document (below) shows the removal of a paragraph about future plans to make the advice statutory (Image: The Herald)

As there didn’t seem to be any obvious reason for this change in approach, I decided the best thing to do would be to simply ask the government what had happened.

I requested that they explain the reasons for the obvious U-turn, and specifically enquired as to whether this had happened as a result of lobbying from the sort of companies that make their money selling school clothes.

So far, so normal.

And then came the response.

A Scottish Government spokesperson got in touch with me and made the following claim: “During development of the guidance, consideration was given to whether there was a need for it to be statutory. It was agreed with stakeholders that non-statutory guidance was the most appropriate way to support schools to work with their families to effectively implement and embed the policy and guidance within their local policies.”

Let’s just be absolutely clear about this: the government told the press, in response to a direct question about its change of policy on uniform guidance, that this move had been “agreed with stakeholders”.

But this is not the case.

How do I know? Because I’ve seen the email in which a government official informs those ‘stakeholders’ of the change.

On Wednesday 12 June, a Senior Policy Officer in the government’s Learning Directorate sent an email to members of the working group that had been putting together the uniform advice – the ‘stakeholders’ that the government was referring to.

This group included trade unions, parent groups, charities, council representatives and at least one school uniform supplier.

The email begins by explaining that the publication of the guidance has been delayed due to the UK General Election, with the government “aiming for publication in the w/c 19 August.” In reality, publication finally happened nearly a month after that date.

The official then goes on to provide “an update on the future status of the guidance”, telling the group that “following further consideration, the Cabinet Secretary has decided that the guidance will remain non-statutory initially.” This means that it is “therefore not our intention to progress statutory guidance at this time".

They added: “I recognise this is a change in approach.”

An extract from the 12 June email from the Scottish Government to stakeholders. Highlights have been added for clarity. (Image: The Herald)

Members of the group have confirmed that there was no agreement on the decision to abandon statutory guidance, with one telling me that the change in position had “come out of the blue”.

Another told me that "it had always been said that the guidance would eventually be statutory" and that when this position changed they "had concerns about whether it would weaken the profile and implementation of the guidance." They added that they want the decision kept under review.

So despite the Scottish Government’s claims, the decision to abandon plans for statutory guidance was not "agreed with stakeholders" – instead, they were simply provided with an update informing them that a decision had been made by Jenny Gilruth.

But it turns out there's more to the story, and that we do now know a little bit more about the government's decision-making.

In the spirit of openness and transparency, the Scottish Government was offered another chance to explain the circumstances of the "change in approach", and the response - this time - does seem to shine a some more light on the matter.

The updated lines suggest that the change in policy has come about as a result of an agreement with COSLA, the body which represents the councils that could ultimately face court action if schools failed to adhere to statutory guidelines.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said they had “engaged with a range of stakeholders as part of the development of our School Uniform Guidance, including thorough the School Uniform working group, of which the Schoolwear Association are a member.

“During development of the guidance, consideration was given to whether there was a need for it to be statutory. It was discussed with stakeholders and agreed with COSLA, who have statutory responsibility for education provision, that the most appropriate way to support schools is to work with their families to effectively implement and embed the policy and guidance within their local policies.”