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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

My Lords, I declare my interest as a member of the Knowledge Schools Trust. Before I speak to my amendment, I offer my support to all the uniform amendments proposed so far by noble Lords. Schools need a bit more flexibility around uniforms than is allowed for by the Bill.

My amendment, much like Amendments 195A and 199ZA, would caveat the ban on schools being allowed to mandate three items of a branded uniform, excluding branded items that have been provided or lent to pupils free of charge. Why? One reason, as we heard from my noble friend Lady Sater, is that some schools have sport kit sponsors which provide more than three branded items free of charge.

The more important reason is that this prohibition would throw up an obstacle to the expansion of the Combined Cadet Force programme in state schools, which the Government have said they are in favour of. My reading of Clause 29 is that the prohibition would apply to CCF troops, because it says:

“For the purposes of subsection (1)”—

the limit on the number of branded items a pupil is required to have—

“a pupil is required to have a branded item of school uniform for use during a … year if the pupil is required to have it … to participate in any lesson, club, activity or event facilitated by the school during that year”.

A school-based combined cadet force would be an activity facilitated by the school.

I was surprised to see this clause appear as written, because an article in the UK Defence Journal published on 29 May 2025 began:

“The Ministry of Defence has welcomed the findings of a recent academic study highlighting the positive impact of school-based Cadet Forces, and confirmed plans to expand Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) in state schools as part of a broader effort to improve youth development and opportunity”.

When responding to a Parliamentary Question, from the noble Lord, Lord Stevens of Birmingham, on 28 May, shortly after this report was published, the

Minister of State for Defence, the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, affirmed the Government’s support for the report’s recommendation that school-based cadet forces be expanded:

“We very much welcome the excellent research by the University of Northampton on the impact and value of school-based Cadet Forces in the UK, a study commissioned by the Ministry of Defence”.

He went on to describe the report as

“compelling reading for anyone interested in the development of young people”,

noting that it contained

“many useful insights … for school leaders to help support their efforts to seek wider opportunities for all their pupils”.

12.30 pm

If the Government are genuinely in favour of expanding the CCF programme, and I hope they are, they must accept my amendment, since the uniforms that members of CCFs have to wear contain more than three branded items. With the exception of combat boots, all the items are provided free of charge by the Ministry of Defence, meaning that if you caveat Clause 29 in the way I am suggesting, it would solve the problem.