Families are being forced to choose between what they are going to feed their families and paying hundreds on compulsory school uniforms, says one Greater Manchester mum. The fears come as the cost-of-living skyrockets, fuel prices continue to climb and Ofgem announces that the energy price cap will further increase in the coming weeks.
Tameside mum Jessica Walker says she has witnessed neighbouring families struggling so much with the price of uniforms that they are being forced to make tough decisions, as the costs are so high that ‘a family could go on holiday for that amount of money’. The Hattersley publican, a former NHS nurse, says she has been standing in the supermarket uniform aisles with other mums as they have shared anxieties about paying for the compulsory clothes at a time when wages ‘aren’t going up nearly high enough to meet the expense’.
Jessica is now calling on the government to make uniforms free for families, arguing that an employer would provide uniforms for jobs which require them. As school uniforms are mandatory, the same policy should apply, she says.
“One mum told me she hadn’t purchased food shopping for the week because she was having to buy these school uniforms,” Jessica told the Manchester Evening News .
“Her bill was coming to £690 for three children, and that’s before she’d got the jumpers. That’s nothing special, that’s just what schools are asking parents to do.
“It’s £60 a time for the right kind of school shoes for an eight-year-old in Clark’s, £30 a time for blazers which will be too small soon, PE kits, calculators. Children are constantly growing, they’ll have grown out of all of this before Christmas - right at the time we’ll all be feeling the pressure with the price cap rise.”
The school uniform for Jessica’s own two children came to around £500 - including eight-year-old Kyle in primary school and 13-year-old Maisey in secondary. Now, she’s trying to raise awareness that the clothes are becoming unaffordable for many parents with her own petition, asking for more funding for struggling families or for school uniform fees to be waived.
“If you don’t have any family to help you with the costs, it’s so much worse,” says Jessica.
“It’s £15-a-week to top of their school lunch cards and paying out for bus passes alongside all the uniforms. If you work at McDonald’s, you get your uniform for free, why couldn’t it be the same?
“I have a friend who is on her own, with no support apart from the most basic universal credit benefit, and she is having to watch what she feeds her kids.”
The government says that families will save money on school uniforms from September 2022, following new legally-binding guidance published November 2021 requiring schools to make uniform affordable for all. ‘The Department for Education cost of school uniform guidance means schools in England must ensure that school uniform costs are reasonable, and parents get the best value for money’.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “School uniform must never be a burden for parents or a barrier to pupils accessing education.
“We have introduced new guidance that schools in England are required to follow to keep down the cost of uniform, including through limiting branded items and making sure second-hand options are available, helping ensure that families of all backgrounds can benefit from the best value for money.
“We know schools and families are facing increased cost pressures more broadly, which is why we are providing over £37 billion to help households with the greatest need and supporting families through the Household Support Fund.”
But 34-year-old Jessica is demanding the government to do more. The stigma attached with being unable to afford school uniforms only makes the matter more urgent, she says: “Who wants to ring up school and say ‘I’m struggling to buy my child’s uniform’? It’s embarrassing for people.
“It’ll drive people to get payday loans, take out more credit cards and make people get further and further into debt.
“And it’s the children that are really going to suffer at the end of the day, if they don’t have the right uniform they could end up being bullied by other pupils or put in isolation by the teachers for not following the rules. It’s not fair.”
If you would like to sign Jessica's petition, head here.
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