SCHOOLS should not punish returning children whose parents have been unable to buy them new uniform during lockdown, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford told the Senedd he was sure schools would "exercise good sense" when considering uniform policy in the coming weeks.

Schools "must take a flexible approach to uniforms in these extraordinary periods," he added.

The Welsh Government is also in talks with the retail sector to resolve "emergency needs" around uniform, he revealed.

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This week the youngest primary school pupils returned to the classroom for the first time since last December, and if the coronavirus situation continues to improve in Wales, more children will go back to school from March 15.

Conservative MS Russell George told the first minister of concerns parents could not buy school-appropriate clothing for their children who had grown out of their uniform in the past few months.

"School uniform seems to be classed as a non-essential item and is unable to be purchased," Mr George said. "Shoe shops are closed, meaning that children cannot be measured to get approximate-sized shoes."

He asked the first minister: "What advice can you provide to parents in supporting them to obtain school uniforms and shoes before their children return to school? And what consideration has been given to relaxing the wearing of school uniforms in schools, given the fact that children grow out of clothes and shoes so quickly?"

Mr Drakeford said: "The instruction of the Welsh Government to schools is that they must take a flexible approach to uniforms in these extraordinary periods.

"No child should be sent home from school in Wales because they're unable to obtain a uniform in the extraordinary circumstances of recent weeks, and I'm sure that schools will exercise good sense in the way that they approach this matter."

Mr Drakeford added: "We're in discussions with the retail sector to see if there's anything we can do to help meet emergency needs when children don't have shoes... and I know that schools themselves will look to assist where there are genuine difficulties of that sort.

"The system just needs to react to the circumstances in the way that shows some flexibility and simple good sense in order to make sure that families do not find themselves facing additional difficulties on the journey back into education."