“‘Panic week” has hit school uniform banks across the country as thousands of working families are forced to turn to them for help ahead of the new term. Charities supporting parents with the back-to-school bill are facing “unprecedented” demand as they help kit out thousands of kids with the basic clothes they need to return to the classrooms.
As the cost-of-living crisis surges, hiking up uniform prices to as much as £450 per child, uniform banks told the Record they are seeing increasing numbers of working families who are missing out on uniform grants. Clair Coyle, who runs a uniform bank provided by West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare, said many working mums and dads are faced with a “massive worry” over clothing their kids for school as they are just surpassing the threshold for funding.
She said: “We find now more working families are getting in touch with us. Low income working families just missing that threshold for getting grant support and finding it difficult. We’re hearing from a lot of working households that have never had to seek support before but because of the cost of everything they’re having to contact us for the first time.
“They’re saying ‘because I’m working I didn’t know if I should be getting in touch’. It’s a massive worry for many parents when their kids are going back to school.
“When we get feedback from families and a lot say they were really stressed and anxious about how they were going to manage. They speak about the relief they felt knowing their kids have what they need for returning to school.”
View 3 ImagesClaire Coyle at West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare(Image: Lennox Herald)
The charity has been running for 13 years with staff identifying the need for a uniform bank, which has been running more than a decade. The numbers of children supported has grown steadily, with 450 uniforms handed out last year.
Originally a uniform recycling project, the charity now applies for funding for new uniforms. Clair said: “We felt that all kids should be going back the same and feeling really good about going back.
“If children from families more affected by poverty can go back with a new uniform they would be more inclined to attend school and be open to learning. We encourage families to contact us direct. If someone is in need they shouldn’t need to run around seeking referrals to get support.
“But we do also take referrals from social work and charities. Once the schools do start back, if a child doesn’t have a proper set of shoes or jacket the school will also get in touch and ask us to provide support.”
But just like parents, the charity is finding its funding doesn’t stretch as far as it once did. Clair said: “We’re wanting the funding to stretch as far as possible and to be able to provide for every family that gets in touch, so we do spend a lot of time looking around different places to get as much as we can but we’re seeing a price hike – the same with everything.”
According to the Department for Education, the average cost of a uniform is around £350 for primary schoolchildren and as much as £100 more for secondary pupils. Sandra Douglas founded Back to School Bank in East Renfrewshire over a decade ago.
So far this year, her volunteers have helped find uniforms for 300 kids in the area through referrals and many are working parents. She said: “This week and next week is ‘panic week’ as we call it – the weeks when parents haven’t been able to buy a thing and they don’t know what to do and that’s when they come to us.
“This year has been really tough. Finances are so stretched. It’s so difficult to get the funding and prices are going up like nobody’s business. We’re feeling what parents are feeling.
“People assume it’s just people on benefits, but it’s not. It’s people in their own house, working, who can’t afford the basic necessities.
“We help a lot of people in working poverty. They are not at the threshold where they get the grant but still can’t afford to buy the uniform as they’re not earning enough to match the prices. We’re dealing with 15-20 referrals a day.
“So far we’ve always managed to pull together a uniform, but it is a constant worry as the last thing you’d want is to turn anybody away. Things that used to cost £4.50 are now £5. What used to be £12.50 is now £14. Multiply that by hundreds of kids and it’s a lot of money.”
View 3 ImagesSandra Douglas, founder of Back to School Charity East Renfrewshire, with project manager Sheena Hutton and volunteer Maureen McCredie(Image: DAILY RECORD)
Sandra said the amount able to afford to support their ‘sponsor a uniform’ appeal has halved over the last decade due to the cost of living. She said: “That’s understandable as it’s just everyday people locally doing this for us. It’s still a lot of help.
“Our big aim is to be able to shut the door and not need to do it again.” The Scottish Government provided £14million for the school funding grant last year. Its guidance says families on low incomes should be able to access a minimum of £120 a year for a primary pupil and £150 for secondary pupils – figures which have not risen for four years.
But eligibility is set by local authorities and can vary. Most councils in Scotland pay the grant to people on universal credit who earn a salary of less than £850 a month.
Sara Spencer – Cost of the School Day Project Manager at Child Poverty Action Group Scotland –said: “We want to see eligibility thresholds for school clothing grants expanded to all families receiving universal credit, so more on low-incomes qualify and more children can learn and enjoy school without the stress and worry of not having the right uniform.”
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A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We have committed to increasing funding in line with inflation during this Parliament.”
Families can visit their local authority’s site. Guidance on reducing uniform costs can be found at mygov.scot/clothing-grants
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