The Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced guidance regarding the prevention of hair discrimination in schools.
There have been a number of court cases where school rules on hair styles have been found to be in contravention of relevant laws and right.
Case law example – race
A school banned ‘voluminous’ hairstyles as part of its rules related to hair and hairstyles. A student with a natural Afro hairstyle challenged the school’s uniform policy in court as being indirectly discriminatory because of race.
The EHRC secured a legally binding agreement with the school to review and ensure the school’s policy was not discriminatory on grounds of race. The school would need to change the policy to avoid being in breach of the Equality Act 2010.
Now the Equality and Human Rights Commission have created guidance that schools can use to update their policies to avoid being in breach.
Guidance: https://equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/preventing-hair-discrimination-schools