Tag: national guidance

New school uniform guidance published

Reducing the cost of the school day

New national guidance which aims to reduce the cost of school uniforms for families has been published.

Following consultation with schools, families, uniform suppliers, pupils and councils, the new guidance also sets out key considerations to ensure pupil comfort, freedom and happiness.

The guidance, which can be used to form individual school uniform policies, includes advice on encouraging schools to adopt measures that limit costs for families and reduce waste, including limiting the number of items that pupils need and promoting items that can be reused more easily.

The Education Secretary launched the guidance during a visit to Camperdown Primary School in Dundee where she learned about work by pupils to develop a cost of the school day action plan.

Ms Gilruth said: “Every child in Scotland should be able to attend school feeling comfortable, confident, and ready to learn. However, we know the cost can be a significant burden for families and we want to support schools to minimise these costs.

“This new national guidance contains measures for schools to develop and implement their own affordable and sustainable policies that recognise the individual needs of all pupils.

“It makes clear that schools are expected to do all they can to limit school clothing costs for families as part of our wider aim to reduce the cost of the school day. The guidance also encourages schools to develop flexible and inclusive policies which promote generic items of clothing and do not include compulsory branded items, supporting our efforts to be more sustainable.

“Ending child poverty is the central mission of this government and reducing the cost of the school day for families will play a crucial role in this work.”

A spokesperson for Edinburgh School Uniform Bank reacted: “We’re delighted that the government has adopted many of our suggestions around school uniform in their new guidance:

👉 Pupils’ comfort, happiness and freedom to learn and play should be at the centre of considerations about school uniform and clothing, alongside a focus on removing barriers to participation in school education.

👉 Branded items of uniform and blazers should not be compulsory, nor promoted or encouraged by schools.

👉 Schools should avoid including items that need frequent washing or are difficult to wash or dry, and

👉 promote and support arrangements for families to access pre-loved clothing, and

👉 consider the availability of non-standard sizes of uniform, clothing and footwear included within their policies to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their age or build, are able to access comfortable and practical clothing and footwear at a reasonable cost.

School uniform and clothing: Guidance for schools and education authorities

Protecting the rights of care home residents

Strengthened standards ensure fewer restrictions on visiting

Strengthened national guidance on visiting has improved residents’ quality of life Health Secretary Michael Matheson was told by staff and residents at a care home in Greenock.

The Health and Social Care Standards which came into force last April gave people living in care homes rights to see loved ones and name relatives or friends they wish to be involved in their care plans.

The standards have helped deliver the aims of Anne’s Law, ensuring people who live in adult care homes have rights to see and get support from those who are important to them, ahead of the Scottish Parliament considering entering it into legislation as part of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

The Bagatelle Care Home is one of two operated by the Greenock Medical Aid Society. Their “meaningful visits” team, set up during the pandemic to ensure residents had regular, safe contact with loved ones, won the Nursing Older People Award at the Royal College of Nursing Awards 2021.

Mr Matheson said: “Strengthening the standards has allowed us to meet our pledge to introduce the provisions of Anne’s Law as quickly as possible by using existing legal powers. This has minimised disruption to visiting and I am glad to hear how this is already helping residents and their loved ones.

“I would also like to congratulate the staff here at the Bagatelle Care Home on the Nursing Older People award and thank them for their continued hard work.”

Andrea Wyllie, Chief Executive of Greenock Medical Aid Society, said: “Since we introduced meaningful visits safely during the height of the pandemic we’ve seen improvements in residents’ and family members’ overall wellbeing.

“Our data showed an increase in appetites and a significant decrease in those at risk of malnutrition. We saw moods lift and a feeling of life and buzz return into our care homes. We  demonstrated that we could balance the rights of residents and family members in being back together, with the risks that increasing footfall could bring.”

Kevin Mitchell, the Care Inspectorate’s executive director of scrutiny and assurance, said: “We recognise that recent years have been an unprecedented challenge for all those living and working in care settings.

“We have seen countless examples of care services working extremely hard to support people to maintain contact with their loved ones in meaningful ways.

“The Care Inspectorate continues to work closely with partners across the sector and with the Scottish Government to ensure people experiencing care are supported to have meaningful contact with the people important to them.”

Cathie Russell of Care Home Relatives Scotland said: “We are pleased the Health Secretary is marking the one year anniversary of the new care standards which are helping to ensure people can still have contact with loved ones even during Covid and other outbreaks and look forward to this approach being enshrined in Anne’s Law as a matter of urgency.”