With schools in England breaking up for summer, many parents will soon be turning their thoughts towards getting their children's uniforms sorted for the new academic year.

Current rules tell head teachers to keep items with school branding on to a minimum.

But in the King’s Speech, the new government promised to limit the number of branded items schools require.

For many, that will mean a change to PE kits.

The aim is to reduce costs for parents - but it comes with a well-rehearsed discussion about the potential downsides.

Student nurse Anna Aponik is already saving for her daughter’s secondary school uniform.

Ms Aponik picked up a skirt and trousers at the school's second-hand shop, in Gloucestershire, but must buy a blazer, tie, hoodie, and PE kit - which includes leggings, football socks and a top - from the only local uniform store.

“The white shirt is the only thing I can buy from a range of shops,” she says.

Adding it all up, she says it will cost at least £106 for each of her three children and would welcome a cap on the number of branded items.

“I’m a student nurse and my husband is a bus driver, so finances are limited – we are trying to cut costs everywhere and we don’t really go out as it is too expensive - so buying school uniform means not buying something else," Ms Aponik says.

School uniform policies vary across the country and schools enforce the rules in different ways, including sending pupils home.

Two out of every three secondary school parents find uniforms too expensive, a Children’s Society survey of 2,000 parents suggests, and one in three need to buy four or more branded items.

“Many families are still having to fork out hundreds of pounds each year,” chief executive Mark Russell says.

There is “much more to do” to lower the cost - and he wants the number of branded items limited to two.

Schools are already required, by law introduced in 2022, to:

Before coming to power, Bridget Phillipson, now the education secretary, said the number of branded items should be limited to three., external

Most of 272 schools surveyed by the Schoolwear Association said sports leggings and inner layers would be taken off the uniform list following the changes.

“That has a massive potential implication,” industry chairman Matthew Easter says.

“Participation in sports is dropping off - and if you then add to that the fact that students might be anxious because they do not have the brand that their friends have, I think you'd see a bigger drop off.”

But the government says costly branded PE kits are themselves a barrier to participation - and no child should be excluded or discouraged because they do not have the right kit.

Research has previously shown that lack of confidence, schoolwork pressures and feeling self-conscious in gym or sports gear were among the reasons for girls dropping out of sport.

At Ninestiles academy, in Birmingham, the uniform list includes four branded items - a blazer, a tie and a PE top and shorts.