Do school uniforms contribute to bullying and sexism?

As schools face rising temperatures and the pressures of the summer term, rigid school uniform policies are being challenged for contributing to bullying, inequality and poor mental health among pupils. 

Dr Elizabeth Nassem, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Bradford and a leading researcher on school bullying and pupil wellbeing, has warned that strict uniform rules – many rooted in Victorian‑era thinking – are increasingly out of step with the realities facing young people today. 

“Uniform policies are often justified in the name of discipline or equality, but in practice they can place children’s bodies under intense and constant scrutiny,” said Dr Nassem. “My research with pupils shows that girls, particularly those who are more physically developed or from minoritised backgrounds, are more likely to be singled out for punishment, commented on, or made to feel ashamed because of how they look.” 

Dr Nassem has published numerous papers on school bullying, including The application of a Foucauldian approach to analyse school bullying: a critique (Pastoral Care in Education, 2025), The complexity of children’s involvement in school bullying (Emerald Insight, 2017), in addition to numerous other papers and book chapters, including Discourse, Subjectivity, and Power: A Foucauldian take on school bullying, (School Bullying and Sociological Theory, 2026. 

Dr Elizabeth Nassem, Psychology lecturer at the University of Bradford. Picture credit: University of Bradford.

Power dynamics 

Her comments come as national debate about school bullying has been reignited by recent cultural conversations, including the BAFTA‑winning drama Adolescence, which highlighted the intense pressures faced by young people in school environments. While the drama did not focus on uniform directly, Dr Nassem says real‑world evidence shows everyday school practices can amplify the kinds of power dynamics portrayed on screen. 

“When teachers are required to enforce inflexible rules without the autonomy to apply professional judgement, routine interactions can slip into something far more damaging,” she said. “Girls have described feeling sexualised or humiliated when told to ‘cover up’, even when that is not the intention. That experience has serious consequences for self‑esteem, trust and mental health.” 

Dr Nassem’s research also highlights how uniform enforcement can disproportionately affect black girls, working‑class pupils and children with special educational needs, those already most visible within school disciplinary systems. 

Uniform debate 

She argues that schools are often trying to manage complex adolescent behaviour with blunt tools, while teachers themselves are under‑supported. 

“Many teachers do not have the training, time or institutional permission to respond with sensitivity. They are enforcing rules they did not design, in systems that prioritise control over understanding,” she said. 

Rather than calling for the abolition of school uniform, Dr Nassem recommends a more flexible and child‑centred approach, particularly during hotter months. Her recommendations include relaxing uniform rules in high temperatures, allowing limited choice within colour palettes, listening to pupil voice when reviewing policies, and supporting teachers to use discretion. 

“2026 is the moment to rethink how we balance order with wellbeing,” she said. “Rigid uniform rules are not neutral, they shape how children experience their bodies, their confidence and their place in school. If we want safer, healthier school cultures, this is an obvious place to start.” 

Ofsted report 

Concerns about bullying and sexual harassment in schools have been repeatedly raised by Ofsted in recent years. In its 2021 rapid review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges – Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges – inspectors concluded that sexual harassment had become “normalised” for many pupils, particularly girls, and that low level behaviours were often dismissed or left unchallenged. 

More recent inspection findings and national behaviour surveys suggest that pupils do not always feel listened to, and that behaviour policies are not consistently experienced as fair, sharp reminders, experts argue, that school systems must evolve to better reflect pupils’ lived experiences. 

Dr Nassem is the founder of consultancy Bullied Voices, has worked with schools and local authorities across the UK, and is the author of The Teacher’s Guide to Resolving School Bullying.

As summer heats up, it’s time to free children from outdated uniform rules 

As temperatures rise and the summer term approaches, schools once again find themselves policing skirt lengths, PE shorts and blazer rules designed for a very different era. The question we should now be asking is not whether school uniforms promote discipline, but whether rigid uniform policies are quietly harming the very children they are meant to protect.

School uniform remains one of the least questioned features of the education system, despite society having changed dramatically since these rules were introduced. Many uniform policies are rooted in Victorian ideas about conformity, respectability and control, ideas formed long before we understood mental health, adolescent development or the impact of constant surveillance on young people. 

In my research with pupils across secondary schools, a consistent picture emerges. Uniform enforcement does not simply regulate appearance; it shapes how children experience their bodies and their value. 

Girls describe feeling watched, judged and singled out. Those who are more physically developed, or who do not fit narrow standards of “acceptable” femininity, are more likely to be told to cover up, pulled out of lessons or disciplined, even when they are wearing the same clothes as their peers. 

This is not about individual teachers behaving badly. It is about systems that remove discretion and impose rules without nuance. Teachers are often placed in an extremely difficult position, required to enforce policies rigidly while lacking the training, time or autonomy to deal sensitively with adolescent bodies and sexuality. What schools frame as “maintaining standards”, pupils often experience as humiliation or sexualisation. 

The timing of this conversation matters. Mental health is now acknowledged as a central concern in children’s lives rather than the abstract and stigmatised concept it was. At the same time, young people exist within an appearance‑driven culture shaped by social media, reality television and constant comparison. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram heighten awareness of how bodies are seen and judged, while punitive uniform rules intensify that pressure inside school walls.  

Suppressing self‑expression does not remove sexuality or insecurity. It displaces it. When pupils are tightly constrained, those pressures find other outlets, through bullying, anxiety, eating disorders and conflict. What appears on the surface as a strict approach to order can, in reality, create the conditions for harm. 

These effects are not felt evenly. Research shows that black girls’ bodies are more likely to be sexualised and punished; working‑class pupils and children with special educational needs are more frequently targeted for visible rule‑breaking. Uniform enforcement becomes another mechanism through which existing inequalities are reinforced, even when schools claim neutrality. 

It is no coincidence that recent cultural moments, such as the BAFTA‑winning drama Adolescence, have resonated so strongly. While fictional, they reflect a widely shared concern that young people are navigating school environments that are ill‑equipped to handle the emotional, social and physical realities of modern adolescence. 

The solution is not to abolish school uniform overnight. Nor is it to abandon standards altogether. But schools must ask whether rigid uniform rules are really serving their intended purpose. Small, practical changes such as relaxing rules during hotter weather, allowing choice within agreed colour palettes, involving pupils in policy reviews, can make a significant difference. Crucially, teachers need some or more permission and support to use professional judgement rather than relying solely on enforcement. 

Listening to pupil voice is not a threat to authority; it is a safeguard against harm. Schools that engage with children’s lived experience are better placed to create environments that are orderly without being oppressive, inclusive without being naïve. 

In 2026, continuing to impose 19th‑century solutions on 21st‑century challenges is no longer defensible. If we want schools to be places where children feel safe, respected and mentally well, we must be prepared to loosen the rules that quietly do the greatest damage.

About Dr Elizabeth Nassem 

Dr Elizabeth Nassem is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Bradford and a nationally recognised expert on school bullying, sexual bullying and pupil wellbeing. She has previously lectured in Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Mental Health at Leeds Trinity University and is the founder of Bullied Voices, a consultancy providing research‑led support to schools, charities and workplaces. 

Dr Nassem has worked with schools and local authorities across the UK and is the author of The Teacher’s Guide to Resolving School Bullying (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2020). Her research centres pupil voice and examines how institutional practices, including discipline, surveillance and school policy, shape bullying, inequality and mental health.