Uniform Policy

Policy details

• Date created - 24/02/2026
• Date reviewed - 24/02/2026
• Date approved - 26/02/2026 - Regional Director
• Next review date - April 2026
• Policy owner - Miss Rebecca Shaw

1. Aims
2. Limiting the Cost of Uniform
3. Our Schools Legal Duties under the Equality Act 2010
4. Academy Uniform
5. Expectations
6. Uniform Regulations

1. Coats and Jackets
2. Hats and Gloves
3. Shoes
4. Ties
5. Make-Up
6. Nail Varnish (including acrylic and other nail decoration/accessories).
7. Hair
8. Jewellery

7. Confiscated Items
8. Duties of staff regarding the Academy Uniform
9. Uniform infringements
10. Cost / Where to Buy
11. Uniform Exchange
12. Issues arising from the Uniform Policy

Aims

Co-op Academy Failsworth’s Uniform Policy has been written alongside guidance from the Department for Education, ‘School uniform: Guidance for governing bodies, school leaders, school staff and local authorities – September 2013’ relating to best practice on School Uniform Policy.

A uniform shows that we are a community and wearing it says we’re all in this together.  Academy uniform is compulsory and must be worn at all times in school and on the way to and from school, when representing the school and at any other time specified by the Academy.

The uniform items fulfil the criteria of clothing that is suitable, comfortable, affordable, practical and purposeful for an effective learning and teaching setting in a safe and healthy environment.

Pupils wearing Co-op Academy Failsworth uniform are representing the Academy on their way to and from the Academy and should be wearing it appropriately at all times.

Co-op Academy Failsworth Uniform Policy is based on the notion that the Academy Uniform code:

• Promotes a sense of pride in the School
• Encourages a sense of equality and belonging to the School Community
• Supports teaching and learning
• Is designed with health and safety in mind to enable pupils to be comfortable, safe and secure
• Protects pupils from social pressures to dress in a particular way
• Supports parents to provide an efficient and value for money dress code for their child
• Ensures that a child’s religious or personal belief is respected

Limiting the Cost of Uniform

Our school has a duty to make sure that our uniform is affordable, in line with statutory guidance from the Department for Education on the cost of school uniform.

We understand that items with distinctive characteristics (such as branded items, or items that have to have a school logo or a unique fabric/colour/design) cannot be purchased from a wide range of retailers and that requiring such items limits parents’/carers’ ability to ‘shop around’ for a low price.  

We will make sure our uniform:

• Is available at a reasonable cost
• Provides the best value for money for parents/carers

We will do this by:

• Carefully considering whether any items with distinctive characteristics are necessary
• Limiting any items with distinctive characteristics where possible
• Limiting items with distinctive characteristics to low-cost or long-lasting items, such as ties
• Considering cheaper alternatives to school-branded items, such as logos that can be ironed on, as long as this doesn’t compromise quality and durability
• Avoiding specific requirements for items students could wear on non-school days, such as coats, bags and shoes
• Keeping the number of optional branded items to a minimum, so that the school’s uniform can act as a social leveller
• Avoiding different uniform requirements for different year/class/house groups
• Avoiding different uniform requirements for extra-curricular activities
• Considering alternative methods for signalling differences in groups for inter-school competitions, such as creating posters or labels
• Making sure that arrangements are in place for parents/carers to acquire second-hand uniform items
• Avoiding frequent changes to uniform specifications and minimising the financial impact on parents of any changes
• Consulting with parents/carers and students on any proposed significant changes to the uniform policy, and carefully considering any complaints about the policy

Our Schools Legal Duties under the Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination against an individual based on the protected characteristics, which include sex, race, religion or belief, and gender reassignment.

To avoid discrimination, our school will:

• Avoid listing uniform items based on sex, to give all students the opportunity to wear the uniform they feel most comfortable in or that most reflects their self-identified gender
• Make sure that our uniform costs the same for all students
• Allow all students to have long hair (though we reserve the right to ask for this to be tied back)
• Allow all students to style their hair in a way that is appropriate for school, yet makes them feel comfortable
• Allow students to wear headscarves and other religious or cultural symbols
• Allow for adaptations to our policy on the grounds of equality, by asking students or their parents/carers to get in touch with their Heads of Year who can answer questions about the policy and respond to any requests
• Allow students to request changes to swimwear for religious reasons

Academy Uniform

• For all Pupils

• Co-op Academy School Blazer
• Co-op Academy School Jumper
• Co-op Academy Failsworth Year Tie
• Plain White Shirt
• Plain Black tailored trousers – (no jeans, canvas or linens)
• Plain Black pleated skirt– knee length with at least 40 denier tights
• Plain ankle socks, no prills or patterns (for trouser option only)

• SHOES

• Plain black flat leather/leather like business type footwear – (not suede, nubuck, large logos, patterns or coloured markings).  
• No boots above the ankle, trainers or canvas pumps – pictures of suitable shoes are on the website.

• COATS

• Coats must be big enough to be worn over the blazer and need to be longer than the blazer. Coats cannot be worn in school except in periods of extreme cold when students will be informed of the change.
• Any other outer wear (sweatshirts/hooded tops, cardigans, jumpers) that is not part of school uniform should not be worn in school and will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.
• No caps/hooded sweatshirts/hoodies at all anywhere in school, they will be confiscated

• The Academy PE kit

• Black Failsworth Polo Shirt
• Black Shorts
• Black Socks / Football style socks
• Trainers (please note no Converse, Toms, Vans, Keds or any other pumps or fashion trainer)
• Gum Shield (optional)
• Shin Pads (optional)

• Additional Kit Items (Optional)

• Plain black Tracksuit bottoms – available at Zutti
• Black tracksuit jacket – available at Zutti

Please be aware that if a child arrives at PE without the correct PE kit they will be provided with a school PE kit to wear or placed in Reflections if this occurs more than once.

Expectations

• Pupils are expected to dress in complete school uniform every day of the school year and to present a neat and well-groomed appearance at all times. This also applies when there are trips out of School, unless permission to the contrary has been given by the Headteacher, for example Duke of Edinburgh trips. Pupils are required to wear full school uniform, when travelling to and from the Academy.
• Makeup, nail polish and false nails are banned at the Academy and pupils arriving to school with these on will be asked to remove it/them.
• Pupils who are out of uniform or have part of their uniform missing for any reason must inform their Head of Year or Assistant Head of Year immediately. A signed note by a parent/carer, stating the reason for non-uniform and the date by which the pupils will be back in full uniform must be produced. A 24-hour slip will then be issued to the pupil and full Academy uniform will be expected the next school day. The relevant Pastoral Leaders will decide whether the situation requires a placement in the school’s isolation room.
• The school will try to rectify the incorrect uniform by either contacting home to correct the uniform or offer an item from the school’s uniform exchange.

Uniform Regulations

Co-op Academy Uniform Regulations are intended to be clear, but some pupils may attempt to make an imaginative interpretation and may seek to wear items that are not referred to. The following notes are intended to provide guidance in some such situations. Any item described as not Co-op Academy Failsworth uniform will be confiscated and can be collected by pupils at a time arranged by the relevant Pastoral Leader.

Coats and Jackets

Coats and jackets may be worn on the way to the Academy but must be removed immediately on entering the School buildings unless the Headteacher gives guidance that they are to remain on, for example in extreme weather conditions in the main atrium of the Academy building.

Outdoor coats should be navy blue/black, plain with no logos. Denim items, ‘hoodies’ and cardigans that are regarded as being ‘jackets’ are strictly not allowed in the Academy building and will be confiscated.

Hats and Gloves

Hats and gloves are not part of the school uniform and should not be worn within the Academy buildings at any time. They may be worn on the journey between home and the Academy if the weather requires it.

Shoes

All pupils should wear plain black, leather shoes with dark soles and, if applicable, black laces. Trainers or shoes that have a trainer look are not an acceptable alternative and are strictly not allowed.

No boots above the ankle are permitted.  If a pupil wishes to travel to the Academy in boots, they must change into black shoes upon arrival.  (In exceptional cases, alternative footwear might be allowed if the foot has been bandaged or plastered or a letter from a doctor can be shown.)

Pupils breaking the footwear rule will be sent to the Year Office where contact will be made with parents/carers to ask that they bring appropriate footwear into School. If necessary, pupils will be issued with School black footwear from the Year Office until they are in appropriate school footwear. The footwear that the pupil arrived at the Academy in will be kept in the Year office until the end of the day.

Ties

All pupils should wear their appropriate year tie during the Academy day unless permission has been specifically given to remove them.

Any pupil who is not wearing a tie for a good reason should have a note from a parent to explain this unless the loss of the tie has occurred during the school day. Pupils without a tie must go straight to the Year Office to loan a tie from the relevant Pastoral Leader. An item such as house keys, bus pass etc. must be left as a retainer and collected at the end of the day when the tie is handed in.

Pupils should ensure that a lost tie is replaced as soon as possible. Parents will be contacted if there is any significant delay in the pupil wearing their own school tie.

Make-Up

Make-up, false nails or painted nails are not allowed in the Academy. Pupils found to be wearing makeup will be made to remove it immediately.

Pupils who repeatedly wear make- up will face sanctions for repeatedly refusing to follow the Academy Uniform expectations.

Nail Varnish (including acrylic and other nail decoration/accessories).

Pupils will have to immediately remove any nail varnish.

Pupils who have nails that require specialist removal, will be in internal isolation until they have been removed.

Hair

Hair should be tidy.  Pupils must not have patterns or logos shaved into their hair and it should not be of a colour which could be described as unnatural.  No. 1 or 0 haircuts are strictly banned.  Any pupils with an extreme haircut/colour may be referred to internal isolation until rectified.

In some practical lessons, long hair may have to be tied back for reasons of safety or hygiene. It is an expectation that hair will be tied back for PE lessons.

Jewellery

Pupils may wear a watch and a single pair of stud earrings but no other items of jewellery. Ear piercing should be done at the beginning of the summer holidays. Plasters over new studs are not acceptable. No studs or any body piercing are allowed in school for Health and Safety reasons.

In the case of jewellery and other accessories which infringe this policy, a member of staff will ask the pupils to remove the item. It will be taken to the Pastoral Office and may be collected at the end of the school day or at a convenient time.

Sunglasses are not permitted to be worn in the Academy.

Confiscated Items

If any item is to be retained by a member of staff for longer than a school day, the pupil should be told the following:

1. The date, time and place of return;
2. That the pupil should inform a parent/carer of the confiscation;
3. That the article may be returned to the pupil earlier than proposed if a parent/carer writes a letter requesting this or makes arrangements to collect the item at a mutually convenient time.

All such confiscated items will, at some stage, be returned.

Duties of staff regarding the Academy Uniform

Student uniforms are checked as they arrive at the Academy each day either by staff on the student entrance or by Subject teachers. At the start of each lesson, Subject Teachers upon pupils’ arrival should check that the correct uniform is being worn. This should include checking that jumpers are worn under blazers, shirts are tucked in and ties are on correctly. Such checks should also be made by all Teachers at the start of every lesson.  These checks should be brief and should be a normal and expected part of the start of lessons.

The maintenance of a high standard of the Academy Uniform is the responsibility of every member of Staff and pupils should be challenged on corridors and other areas of Academy, other than the classroom, if their uniform is incorrect.

Uniform infringements

• Following government guidelines, the Headteacher or a person authorised by the Headteacher – Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion/Key Stage leaders, may ask a pupil to go home briefly to remedy a breach of the School’s rules on appearance or uniform. When making this decision, Co-op Academy Failsworth will always consider the pupil’s age and vulnerability, the ease and time it will take and the availability of the pupil’s parents. This is not an exclusion but an authorised absence.
• However, if the pupil continues to breach Academy Uniform rules in such a way as to be sent home to avoid School, or takes longer than is strictly necessary to effect the change, the pupil’s absence may be counted as an unauthorized absence. Parents will be notified and the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
• If a pupil displays continual and deliberate defiance of the Academy rule, the relevant Year Team will refer the pupil to the Assistant Headteacher Inclusion or the Headteacher. After this warning any further infringement may result in a fixed term exclusion.
• Any member of staff who is faced with refusal to obey an instruction concerning school uniform should react in the same way as if any other instruction had been refused.
• The above notes are provided to help staff in some possibly problematic situations concerning school uniforms. The notes are not comprehensive and during any school year new questions may arise.
• A member of staff who is unsure of any issue not explained above should seek clarification from the relevant Year Lead and/or the Deputy Headteacher or Assistant Headteacher for behavior and Inclusion

Cost / Where to Buy

Co-op Academy Failsworth fully endorses the principle that the Academy’s uniform should be affordable for everyone, ensuring that no pupil or family is socially excluded through inability to buy.

The uniform may be purchased from Zuttis, Yorkshire Street, Oldham. This is our approved Uniform supplier for the Academy.  Zutti's Website

Co-op Academy Failsworth is committed to a regular appraisal of the uniform’s cost in order to ensure that it continues to be affordable for everyone.

Uniform Exchange

Good quality school uniform is going to waste when it could be shared – so we’ve set up a uniform exchange.

We want people to recycle preloved school uniform, rather than put them in the bin. Donating unused and unneeded clothing plays an important part in sustaining our planet’s natural resources, looking after the environment is important to us.

A uniform exchange makes it easy for families to pass on school uniform that’s no longer needed and, instead of buying new, find items of school uniform for free.

Year 11 pupils are encouraged to donate items of uniform when they leave, so we have a supply of items of uniform we can give to pupils if required. In exceptional circumstances, parents/carers may be supported by our Hardship Fund to purchase items of School Uniform.

The uniform exchange will be open at publicised times throughout the year.

Issues arising from the Uniform Policy

Parents should raise any issues relating to the Academy uniform, dress code or other aspects of appearance with the Headteacher. Requests to vary the uniform requirements for particular reasons such as medical needs, will always be considered carefully.

Pupils may raise issues with their Head of year. They may also request that uniform matters are put on the school council agenda.