Fresh criticism for Givan over school trousers U-turn as Hunter says girls ‘waited long enough’

SDLP MLA for East Londonderry, Cara Hunter

Girls will be guaranteed the choice to wear trousers at every school in Northern Ireland from the 2027/28 school year, as Education Minister Paul Givan faces fresh criticism over why the change was not made sooner.

SDLP Opposition Education Spokesperson Cara Hunter MLA has joined Ulster Unionist Party leader and Education spokesperson Jon Burrows MLA in welcoming the outcome while challenging the Minister over the months of political and legislative wrangling that preceded it.

The revised, legally binding Department of Education guidelines require school uniform policies to include the option for girls to wear trousers throughout the school year, including for PE and Games.

Hunter: ‘Nobody should pretend we needed to take the long road’

Ms Hunter described the decision as a welcome U-turn but said young women and girls had been clear about the change they wanted.

She said:

“This is a welcome U-turn from the Minister, but nobody should pretend we needed to take the long road to get here. Young women and girls told the Minister clearly what needed to change, and he had every opportunity to act sooner.

“When his own school uniform legislation was before the Assembly, there was a straightforward opportunity to deal with this through amendments. Instead, that opportunity was passed up. It has taken months of public pressure and the Education Committee pursuing separate legislation for the Minister to finally arrive at the right decision.”

The intervention adds to pressure on the Education Minister to explain why the change has been made through revised departmental guidelines after the Assembly’s Education Committee had already pursued separate legislation on the issue.

Ms Hunter questioned the time and resources spent getting to this point.

“It is unacceptable that so much time and effort has been wasted getting here. The Minister needs to explain why he could not have acted earlier, and why significant time and public resources have been spent pursuing legislation to fix a problem he has now shown could have been addressed by his own Department.

“The young people who spoke up, challenged the existing rules and refused to let this issue disappear deserve the credit for forcing this change.”

Burrows calls decision a ‘common-sense outcome’

UUP leader Jon Burrows has also welcomed the revised guidelines, describing them as a “common-sense outcome” while similarly arguing that the Minister could have acted earlier.

Mr Burrows said:

“This is a common-sense outcome. Girls have that choice in the workplace, and it is only right that they have it at school.

“The Minister could and should have resolved this through school uniform guidance during the last Assembly session. Instead, he resisted and forced the Education Committee to legislate. His change of heart is welcome, even if overdue.”

Mr Burrows said he had sought to keep the legislative debate focused on giving girls the choice to wear trousers.

“I worked pragmatically to keep the legislation focused on the practical issue at hand, giving girls the choice to wear trousers, rather than introducing references to gender-neutral clothing.

“I listened to girls and supported change from the outset in the interests of choice, comfort and practicality.

“This is a positive outcome for girls, parents and schools.”

Givan: ‘I have listened carefully’

Announcing the revised guidelines, Mr Givan said he had listened to young people and concluded that the issue mattered sufficiently to warrant greater prescription from his Department.

“I have listened carefully over recent months to young people and the message is clear: girls want the choice to wear trousers as part of their school uniform.

“There is always a balance to be struck between the autonomy of schools to determine their uniform policy and the level of prescription in Departmental guidelines. However, this issue really matters to many young people. After careful consideration, I have, therefore acted to remove any uncertainty for pupils, parents and schools.”

The guidelines stipulate that school uniform policies for the 2027/28 school year onwards must include the option for girls to wear trousers throughout the year, including for PE and Games.

Mr Givan added:

“The revised guidelines will guarantee that girls have the option to wear trousers in every school. My Department will continue to engage with and support schools as they implement the new requirements.”

‘There can be no more foot-dragging’

Attention will now turn from the political dispute over how the change came about to how consistently it is implemented across schools.

Ms Hunter said the Department must ensure the new entitlement works in practice and does not become a source of disagreement between pupils, parents and individual schools.

“The Department must now deliver. This cannot be a right that exists on paper but becomes an argument at the school gate.

“The Minister must ensure every school across the North understands exactly what is required and that the new rules are applied consistently. Girls have waited long enough for this choice, there can be no more foot-dragging.”

For pupils and parents, the practical outcome is clear: from the 2027/28 school year, girls at every school in Northern Ireland must be given the option of wearing trousers, regardless of what that school’s existing uniform policy currently says.

The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Act (Northern Ireland) 2026 and revised School Uniforms Guidelines can be viewed on the Department of Education website.