Three, and the cap is now live — DfE said on 4 September 2026 that the new rules are in force.
Secondary pupils can be required to have a fourth, but only where one of the items is a tie, and in a middle school that higher limit covers every pupil. A bag counts. Ignore the shorthand in DfE’s own press release: it says “four for secondary” flat, and the statute does not. The sharpest detail is what “branded” means — a logo is not required.
updated 4 Sept 2026last checked 4 Sept 2026
What the source actually says
The limit, in the section the Act inserts:
“(1) The appropriate authority of a relevant school in England— (a) may not require a primary pupil at the school to have more than three different branded items of school uniform for use during a school year; (b) may not require a secondary pupil at the school to have more than three different branded items of school uniform for use during a school year (or more than four different branded items of school uniform if one of those items is a tie).”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, inserting s.551ZA(1) of the Education Act 1996 legislation.gov.uk
Note the fourth item is conditional. “Secondary schools get four” is not what it says; four is available only where one of them is a tie.
Middle schools take the secondary limit throughout:
“(2) Where the relevant school is a middle school, the limits mentioned in subsection (1) (b) apply in relation to all pupils at that school.”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, inserting s.551ZA(2) of the Education Act 1996 legislation.gov.uk
What counts as being required to have an item, which is drawn widely enough to catch kit for clubs and activities:
“(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) , a pupil is required to have a branded item of school uniform for use during a school year if the pupil is required to have it— (a) for general use at school (or for travelling to or from school) during that year, or (b) to participate in any lesson, club, activity or event facilitated by the school during that year.”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, inserting s.551ZA(3) of the Education Act 1996 legislation.gov.uk
Bags are inside the definition, expressly:
“(4) “ School uniform ” means a bag and any clothing required for school or for any lesson, club, activity or event facilitated by the school.”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, inserting s.551ZA(4) of the Education Act 1996 legislation.gov.uk
The statutory text does not use the words “PE” or “kit” anywhere. PE kit is caught, if at all, as clothing required to participate in a lesson or activity under s.551ZA(3)(b). It is DfE’s own impact assessment, not the statute, that names it:
“Primary legislation now contains a limit on the number of branded items of school uniform schools can require parents to provide. The limit will be 3 items of branded uniform (including PE kit).”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026: impact assessments, DfE, non-regulatory impact assessment — school measures, “Limit on compulsory items of branded school uniform”, Policy and legislative changes DfE
And the definition most likely to catch a school out — branding does not require a logo:
“(5) An item of school uniform is “branded” if— (a) it has the school name or school logo (or for an Academy, the school or proprietor’s name or logo) on or attached to it, or (b) as a result of its colour, design, fabric or other distinctive characteristic, it is only available from particular suppliers.”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, inserting s.551ZA(5) of the Education Act 1996 legislation.gov.uk
A plain jumper in a shade only one supplier stocks is a branded item under limb (b), however unbadged it is.
The duty is on the school as an institution — the proprietor of an academy, the governing body of a maintained school, the local authority for a pupil referral unit — so unlike the behaviour-policy sections of the Education and Inspections Act, this one reaches academies directly:
”“ relevant school ” means— (a) an Academy school, (b) an alternative provision Academy, (c) a maintained school, (d) a non-maintained special school, (e) a pupil referral unit, or (f) a city technology college or a city college for the technology of the arts, other than where established in a hospital;”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, inserting s.551ZA(6) of the Education Act 1996 legislation.gov.uk
On when it bites. The section itself carried no in-force date — at Royal Assent it was dormant:
“I1 S. 35 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 78(5)”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, Commencement Information — legislation.gov.uk editorial annotation, not enacted text legislation.gov.uk
The commencing instrument was identified on the legislation.gov.uk page as an effect not yet applied, as at 22 August 2026:
“s. 35 coming into force by S.I. 2026/803 reg. 5(b)”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, s.35, “Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 35” — legislation.gov.uk editorial annotation, not enacted text legislation.gov.uk
DfE’s impact assessment is where the September date comes from:
“The timings for the limit to come into effect, with commencement via regulation from 1 September 2026, were designed specifically to give schools sufficient time to review their contractual arrangements.”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026: impact assessments, DfE, non-regulatory impact assessment — school measures, “Limit on compulsory items of branded school uniform”, Impact on external groups, Schools DfE
And on 4 September 2026 DfE announced it as done. Note what this sentence does to the tie condition:
“New rules – in force from this week – cap branded items at three for primary pupils and four for secondary.”
— Government acts to crack down on school uniform-rip offs, DfE press release, 4 September 2026, para. 3 DfE
“Four for secondary” is DfE’s own shorthand and it is not the rule. The press release gives no commencement date of its own — only “this week” — and the word “tie” does not appear in it anywhere. Where the release and s.551ZA(1)(b) differ, the statute is the law; a secondary school requiring a fourth branded item without a tie among them is over the limit, whatever the press release implies.
Who polices it, on DfE’s account:
“Processes are in place to ensure schools are following these rules correctly. If they fail to comply, the Education Secretary can take action to change a schools’ uniform policy where necessary.”
— Government acts to crack down on school uniform-rip offs, DfE press release, 4 September 2026, para. 26 DfE
Optional branded items are not addressed by the statutory text at all. The impact assessment says they survive:
“Schools can continue to include optional branded clothing items in their policy, so long as generic alternatives are also acceptable. Schools do, however, still need to follow the statutory guidance – to keep optional items to a minimum and carefully consider whether an optional branded item is the most cost-effective way to achieve the desired aim.”
— Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026: impact assessments, DfE, non-regulatory impact assessment — school measures, “Limit on compulsory items of branded school uniform”, Policy and legislative changes DfE
Your school may still require it
The cap is on compulsory branded items, not on uniform. Your school can still set a detailed uniform — colours, styles, shoes, what counts as acceptable — and can require you to enforce it, whatever you think of it. What it cannot do, now that the limit has commenced, is require more branded compulsory items than the law allows, and “we’ve always had five” has stopped being an answer.
See also Does my school have to have a behaviour policy?, Do I get a say before the behaviour policy changes? and Do we have to review our uniform supplier contract every five years?.