Protect Our Uniform: Preserve our Identity

St Aidan’s School Council must use the current pause to set aside the proposed uniform redesign and reset the process that produced it.

Background

In 2023, the School surveyed a select group of stakeholders to understand community views on expanding uniform choice through the addition of inclusive items, including pants, shorts and culturally appropriate options.

In July 2026, elements of that limited consultation were relied upon to support a comprehensive redesign of the St Aidan’s uniform suite. The 2023 consultation did not seek community endorsement for a whole-of-uniform redesign, nor did it canvass the removal or substantial alteration of longstanding and recognisable elements of the School’s uniform identity.

The scope of the resulting changes extended well beyond the matters considered in 2023, removing longstanding elements of the School’s visual identity and proposing designs and fabrications that have generated significant concern within the community as to whether they reflect the quality, distinction and character expected of St Aidan’s.

The uniform is one of the most visible and enduring expressions of St Aidan’s identity. Decisions about significant change matter to the students who wear it, the families who choose the School, Old Girls, past families, staff and the wider St Aidan’s community whose connection to the School spans generations.

Serious concerns remain about the proposed designs, the governance of their development, the integrity and scope of the consultation process, and the extent to which relevant stakeholder feedback meaningfully influenced the outcome.

The distinction is important. The 2023 consultation was undertaken to understand views on expanding uniform choice and inclusivity. It was not designed to provide a mandate for a comprehensive redesign of the uniform suite. Yet its findings were subsequently relied upon to support a project of considerably greater scope.

School Council has now acknowledged concerns around meaningful stakeholder engagement, change management, organisational decision-making and institutional trust. It has also acknowledged its responsibility for the overall governance, management and strategic direction of St Aidan’s.

Council has acknowledged these concerns. The responsibility for addressing them now rests with Council.

We ask Council to:

1. Set aside the current uniform proposal

Use the current pause to set aside the proposal in its present form, reconsider the direction taken and recognise the significant concern and loss of confidence that both the proposal and the process that produced it have created within the St Aidan’s community.

The pause should not simply delay implementation. It should provide an opportunity to genuinely reconsider whether the current proposal reflects the expectations, identity and values of the community it is intended to represent.

2. Reset the process and recommence from the consultation and scoping stage

* Re-engage students, parents and Old Girls through transparent, genuine and good-faith consultation about the purpose, scope and priorities of any proposed uniform changes

* Clearly define the full scope of the uniform project before any further design decisions are made

* Ensure that no replacement design brief is finalised until stakeholder consultation has concluded

* Undertake consultation that comprehensively captures community views on the addition of new and inclusive uniform options, the preservation of existing, longstanding and recognisable uniform elements, and the design, quality, fabrication and practical requirements expected of any future uniform

* Use the findings of that consultation to directly inform the design brief and subsequent design process

* Publish a clear summary of the consultation findings and explain how those findings have informed the design brief and subsequent decisions

* Ensure that any future design process demonstrably reflects the outcomes of the consultation, with clear evidence of how stakeholder feedback has shaped the final proposal

Why This Matters

St Aidan’s has been shaped by generations of people who have cared deeply about the School and what it represents.

Its uniform can evolve to meet the needs of today’s students while retaining the distinctive identity, traditions and heritage that make it unmistakably St Aidan’s. Inclusivity and choice can be achieved without unnecessarily abandoning the elements that connect current students with the generations who came before them.

The community deserves genuine consultation. It deserves transparency in how significant decisions are made. And ultimately, it deserves a uniform and a process worthy of the School it represents.

Set aside the proposal. Reset the process. Restore confidence. Protect St Aidan’s identity.