Citizens Advice highlights school uniform grant crisis

A report launched today by Citizens Advice confirms that school uniform grants are falling far short of covering the financial cost faced by parents. The average cost of a school uniform is now £185, while the average grant available when a child starts secondary school is only £51.27, a mere increase of £2.01 since 2001. Out of 172 local education authorities (LEAs) surveyed in England and Wales it was found that 42% now offer no help at all to parents, however low their income, compared with 30% in 2001. Wrexham in Wales is the only education authority to have introduced a grant scheme in the last four years.

Citizens Advice Bureaux have reported seeing an increased number of parents who are struggling to pay the school uniform bill and who subsequently have found that their children have been threatened with being excluded from class for not wearing the correct uniform, despite having informed the school of their financial difficulties. Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said: “Not having the proper uniform can lead to a child being disciplined, marked out as being poor or even as a disruptive influence. It can mean young people are excluded from the social and academic life of the school.

The agency has called on the government to introduce a statutory duty on local education authorities to provide uniform grants, a scheme which was backed by the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee following its inquiry into child poverty in April. Results of Citizens Advice's latest survey also indicate huge discrepancies between local education authorities and regions in the availability of grants, the amount of money that can be paid, and how frequently parents can get help. In one case in the north-east, a lone parent with two children applied for a grant towards the £200 cost of uniform for her child starting secondary school and received £15.