Demand for donated school uniforms has soared with working parents now among those unable to afford to clothe their children.
Charity leaders have reported steep increases in families unable to afford basics such as blazers, trousers and shoes.
Dean Pallant of the Salvation Army, which has a nationwide network of food and uniform banks, said: “The need is vast and urgent. Demand for school uniforms is huge.”
He said volunteers knew one couple who had used their son’s disability allowance to buy school clothes because they were “deemed to earn too much”.
And Labour MP Mike Amesbury, who last year helped pass a law demanding schools keep their uniform rules affordable, warned some headteachers had failed to act on it.
Teacher Hayley Millward, who set up the Featherstone uniform bank in West Yorkshire, said even households where both parents work were turning up as the cost-of-living crisis meant they could no longer afford uniform costs.
Two years ago the bank helped three families – but this autumn term volunteers opened an emergency uniform supply service with local authority social services, and a nearby business donated a container to help cope with the volume of clothes needed.
Ms Millward said: “It’s heartbreaking, there’s been a huge increase in people looking for uniforms because they cannot afford the money needed for a kid to start school.”
Prices for school logo-branded uniform in Featherstone are £22 for trousers, £50 for a blazer, £25 for a jumper and £20 for a shirt.
Ties, PE kit and other items push the overall price up.
No official figures are kept on the numbers of uniform banks or parents using them.
But under the new uniform law’s statutory guidance, schools should have taken steps by the end of last month to reduce the need for branded logos and to allow pupils to wear cheaper supermarket-bought outfits.
Mr Amesbury, whose law was backed by a Sunday Mirror/People campaign, has demanded a meeting with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to find out why some schools are “hiding their heads in the sand” over implementing the plans.
He said: “Access to education should never be dictated by whether their parents can afford uniform, yet some pupils are skipping school rather than risk punishment by turning up in the wrong kit.
"Many schools are leading the way in putting affordability centre-stage but some aren’t paying enough attention, forcing parents to turn to uniform banks.”
Labour MP Jon Trickett, whose Hemsworth constituency includes the Featherstone uniform bank, said: “This shows how rife deprivation is in Tory Britain after 12 years of cuts – yet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ’s response is to promise more austerity.”
Charity The Children’s Society has called on the Government to ease pressure on families by making school meals free for all pupils in households in receipt of Universal Credit.
It said: “The cost of uniforms is getting parents into debt. Schools must make school clothes more affordable.”
