Parents 'struggling' to pay for school uniforms as councils scrap grant

Parents are struggling to afford the soaring cost of school uniforms, as ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi reports

At this time of year the most pressing financial pressure for millions of parents is buying school uniforms.

After all the expense of the summer holidays, they now face costs amounting to hundreds of pounds.

Research for ITV News shows many councils in England no longer offer grants to help families struggling to afford school uniforms.

In Oldham we spoke to single mother Stephanie Brown whose daughter is at primary school.

She said: “It is a struggle because you can't get them the slightly more expensive shoes that you know are going to last for six months, because you've got to buy an extra pack of shirts or an extra pinafore.

"Living is hard. It's hard - everyone is struggling."

Local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland still have school uniform grants - but in England, local authorities no longer receive funding for them.

And many that used to offer the grants, no longer do so.

When ITV News surveyed 20 of England’s largest councils we found only two still offer school uniform grants - Barnet and Dorset.

This year the average cost of a uniform is £422 for secondary and £287 for primary, according to charity Children's Society.

Many schools require branded items incorporating school logos which are only available from specialist outlets not supermarkets - this can significantly add to the cost. 

Matthew Easter, spokesman for Schoolwear Association, defended the use of branded items in school uniform policies.

He told ITV News: “If you didn't have just a few key branded items, then you would lose that uniform look.

"They reinforce the ethos of the school, they're a social leveller for all the children there, they reduce the chance of bullying.”

New rules designed to minimise branded items are not working as well as they should, according to the MP behind the legislation.

Labour MP for Weaver Vale Mike Amesbury told ITV News: “There are far too many children and families being cost out of local schools, and some are facing the indignity of not being able to afford uniform items - particularly branded blazers and so forth.

"It's simply not on.”

A spokesperson for councils told ITV News some in England use the government’s  Household support fund to help with school costs.

But for many parents this financial strain blights the excitement of the new school year.

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