Call for help with school uniform costs in England

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Low-income families in England struggling with the cost of school uniform should be offered grants as standard, one of the UK's largest debt advisers has said.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all families on certain benefits can claim between £93 to £200 per child for back-to-school clothing.

But Money Wellness found only a fifth of councils in England offer any support and has called on the UK government to introduce a statutory school clothing grant.

The Department for Education (DfE) said it was already changing the law to limit the number of branded items schools can insist on, saving some families over £50 on the back-to-school shop.

However, the average cost of a school uniform is just over £340 for primary school children and around £454 for those in secondary education, according to DfE figures.

"For many low-income households, even with such savings, uniforms will remain unaffordable without proper support," said Adam Rolfe, policy and public affairs officer at Money Wellness.

Money Wellness says of 153 local education authorities in England, just 22 offer a dedicated uniform grant, while a further seven provide help but only in exceptional circumstances such as fire, flooding or being made homeless.

It said the data reveals a "postcode lottery of support".

Councils in places such as London, Yorkshire, and the north west offer help ranging between £30 to £170 per child.

But, it said: "The vast majority offer nothing at all."

Mr Rolfe said: "We urgently need a consistent, national approach to school uniform support to ensure no child is disadvantaged simply because of where they live."

The Local Government Association, the membership group for English councils, said: "While some councils choose to help parents with the cost of school uniforms, funding pressures on council budgets make it increasingly difficult for them to continue these concessionary grants.

While pupils in England are still out for the summer, the break finishes in around four weeks' time and the Children's Society charity said now is the time that school uniform banks are starting to get busier.

For Carrie, who was getting a uniform for her son Dillion for his new secondary school, places like the Green Uniform and Baby Bank in Cheshire are "invaluable".

"It's a real challenge to be able to afford a brand new school uniform," she told the BBC.

Carrie said she had ordered £200 worth of new items, and she could "now send some things back" and even buy some spares.

"It's a real safety net," she said.

But Carrie said there were other costs too such as shoes and football boots. "And Dillon will grow out of them so it is a continual issue really and with Christmas not far off, it is back-to-back for families with costs."

With household bills such as energy, water and council tax rising in April, Mr Rolfe said the costs of the start of the school year was an added financial burden.

Jason, who was at the Green Uniform and Baby Bank in Cheshire with his wife Julie and their children Amelia and Bobby, said it was not just low income families who were struggling with costs.

"You might earn a lot of money however, bills are going up, the cost of living is going up. We're in a sort of crisis where everyone's trying to save or penny-pinching wherever they can," he said.

Josh, whose daughter Isabella was going into year seven, said the cost of school uniforms was "very high", but he received an email from the school telling him about the bank.

"It just helps places like this to support everyone, keep it a fair price," he said.

"It's great for everyone, there's no judgement on using secondhand clothes. There used to be a lot of stigma, it had to be branded but now there's no stigma on that, everyone's in the same boat struggling."

And it is a sustainable way to shop, according to Jason: "You're not having uniforms and clothes going to landfill sites".

Michelle Hawthorne, who helps run a school uniform bank in Winsford, Cheshire, said school uniform costs were an "enourmous" pressure for families.

"If you have multiple children across multiple schools, as a lot of our families do, you can see how the cost of that can become... unbearable."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Our Plan for Change is removing barriers to opportunity, with limits on branded items of school uniform just one of the steps we're taking to put money back into parents' pockets and break the link between background and success."

How to save money on school uniform

• If a council does not have a school uniform grant, families can apply for help through the Household Support Fund. Each council administers this differently, so check council websites for details

• Check to see if the school organises second-hand uniform sales, or runs their own pre-loved uniform bank

• Other charities such as Turn2Us and The Fashion & Textile Children's Trust provide help

• Check with retailers including major supermarkets for back-to-school deals on uniform basics

Source: Money Wellness