New guidance from Britain's human-rights watchdog says that children with Afro-textured hair should not be prevented from wearing natural hairstyles at school.

This means that school bans on hairstyles like braids and cornrows are likely to be unlawful if they do not give exemptions on racial grounds.The guidance will not affect government policy but is intended to help stop hair-based discrimination in schools.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) discovered that many schools hair policies "disproportionately impact pupils from specific racial groups".

The EHRC continued by saying that to ban certain styles without making exceptions on racial grounds is likely to be unlawful".

This includes styles such as afros, braids, cornrows, plaits, locks and head coverings.

The EHRC issued new guidance to help schools in England, Scotland and Wales ensure their hair do not unlawfully discriminate.

This guidance applies to all types of hair discrimination but mostly focuses on race due to "the disproportionate impact upon pupils from specific racial groups".

Jackie Killeen, chief regulator at the EHRC, said: "Discrimination based on hair can have serious and long-lasting consequences for victims and their families."

"As Britain's equality regulator, we want to put a stop to pupils being unfairly singled out for their appearance in schools."

"That's why, after working closely with experts and those directly affected, we are launching these practical resources to help school leaders understand the law in this area and prevent discrimination from happening."

"Every child deserves to be celebrated for who they are and to thrive in school without having to worry about changing their appearance to suit a potentially discriminatory policy."

The guidance has cited past examples where schools were taken to court over their hair policies including a school which banned boys from wearing certain hairstyles including cornrows.

The watchdog also cited the case of Ruby Williams, mixed-race, who was repeatedly sent home because of her school's policy that banned afro hair of "excessive volume".

The EHRC have now secured a legally binding agreement with the school that ended the policy and now considered factors such as race and religion when determining what was a "reasonable" hairstyle.

L'myah Sherae, founder and chief coordinator of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for race equality in education, said:

"No child should be sent home from school for wearing their natural hair, which is why our APPG wrote to the EHRC in October 2021 to highlight the need for new, strengthened guidance."

"We want black children across the UK to know that they can be genuinely proud of their identity, not penalised for it."

"I am therefore pleased that this guidance is now being published, and I am proud to have been involved in the drafting process."