Last week, the National Education Union openly criticised the uniform policy adopted by three States schools – Hautlieu, Haute Vallée and Grainville – due to their ban on allowing female students to wear skirts.
The union said that the policy was a new form of discrimination against women and called for the ban to be lifted. A large of majority of JEP readers backed the NEU’s comments on social media.
Education Minister Tracey Vallois said that she thought that the debate had created an opportunity for existing school uniform policies to be challenged.
She added that she believed it was important for school councils – representative bodies of students – to be involved in deciding what was worn at school.
‘I think there is an opportunity to challenge the policy of school uniforms more widely – it’s not just about skirts,’ she said.
‘But we need to listen to the voices of children and ask what uniform they would be comfortable wearing for learning. And we have different types of uniform that need to looked at such as what you wear in PE and PSHE.
‘We need to be more rounded in what we do. School councils should be part of the discussion and children should be asked what they feel is right for them.
‘This is part of what we are doing with signing up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children.
‘We don’t dictate to people in the workplace, for example, what colour socks they should be wearing like we do in schools, so we need to challenge the policies.’
The minister added that she believed that schools were being open and transparent to parents about their uniform policies.
‘I understand that each school publishes their uniform policy on their website and they advise parents of their uniform requirements,’ she said.
Meanwhile, Jersey’s children’s commissioner Deborah McMillan, who was appointed further to the recommendations of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, said: ‘I would advise schools reviewing their school uniform policies should ensure that the views and voices of pupils, their parents and carers are heard and to show flexibility and common sense in the application of the policy.’
