UK households are being handed £500 per year of savings thanks to a schools rule change.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced new school uniform laws that will cap the number of branded items children are required to have at school to just three. Under current rules, schools are obligated to ‘limit’ the number of branded items that pupils require, but government analysis has found that almost half are not doing so. According to the DfE, parents are having to pay £442 on average to kit out their child for secondary school, and £343 for primary school.

But proposed laws will change the rules so that schools can only require three items to be branded (excluding ties), as these are typically more expensive.

The DfE says the new uniform laws will save parents £50 per year in their back-to-school shop, and when combined with the introduction of free breakfast clubs in all schools, this will give parents £500 worth of annual savings.

The breakfast clubs are 30 minute sessions before the start of school which provide children with a free, nutritious breakfast, and will be available across the nine regions of England which include London, North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, East of England, and South West.

The clubs launched in 750 schools last week as part of the first phase of a national roll out which will see free breakfasts made available in every primary school in England.

The DfE said: “The new uniform laws will save parents £50 a year in their back-to-school shop, which alongside the measure to introduce free breakfast clubs in all schools, will put £500 back into the pockets of parents.

“Today’s analysis shows parents of an estimated 4.2 million pupils across 8,000 schools will have more flexibility to choose where they purchase their school uniform with the introduction of the cap.

“Uniform can create a sense of identity and pride for pupils but it can also be a source of anxiety and in some cases even impacts school attendance.”

Existing statutory guidance on school uniform means all schools must consider and aim to minimise the cost on parents, but the new cap on branded items will take this further to give parents bigger savings.

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, added: “Looking smart at school shouldn’t cost the earth, and no parent should be forced to choose between buying family essentials and a school shirt or tie.

“Alongside our free breakfast clubs, these new laws will save parents hundreds of pounds a year, and make sure family finances have no bearing on children’s time at school.

“This bill is about keeping children safe, saving parents money and bringing every school up to the standard of the best, so we can break down barriers to opportunity and deliver our Plan for Change.”