Many parents across the UK are struggling with the current cost of living crisis as inflation continues. Due to rising costs many families could find it difficult to buy new school uniforms for their children, which is estimated to cost parents more than £300 per child each year.
However, families are now able to apply for a School Uniform Grant, depending on your local authority and individual circumstances. Availability depends on the local authority in your area. Nottingham City Council offers the school clothing allowance for pupils in primary and secondary school who are in academic years reception, one, four, seven nine and 11. They must attend a local authority school.
Help of up to £40 is available for year 7 children, while £0 can be claimed for year nines and £15 for children in reception, year 1 and year 11 in Nottingham city for those at local authority schools.
However, for anyone outside Nottingham, Nottinghamshire County Council does not offer financial help towards school clothing apart from in exceptional circumstances - which includes a family who have lost their clothes in a flood or a fire.
It is a government run scheme and the grant is non-repayable. Budgeting expert at vouchers.co.uk, Andrea Knowles, has explained how the grant works, who is eligible and how to apply, as well as tips to keep costs down when buying school uniforms.
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The highest grants available to families in England is £150 per child, but this could increase to up to £200 depending on personal circumstances. In Wales the grant is up to £200 per child, up to £150 in Scotland and up to £67.50 in Northern Ireland.
However only 27 out of 149 English councils offer this grant, so parents will need to find out if this includes their local authority. This can be done on the government website, where you can enter your postcode to see if your council provides help.
If your council does offer the grant, you should be able to claim if if you can prove that you are on a low income. Or if you receive child tax credit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, universal credit, working tax credit, guaranteed element of pension credit or support under Part VI of the Immigration Asylum Act 1999.
If your child or children receive school meals, it is likely that they should also be entitled to the School Uniform Grant, as long as it is offered by your local authority. However, if your child goes to a private or independently run school, they will not be eligible for the grant.
If your child lives in the city of Nottingham and attends a school in the city you will be eligible for the support, only if you receive one of a number of benefits such as income support, jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, or the guarantee element of pension credit. Other benefits eligible for the scheme include child tax credit, support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and universal credit, although income thresholds do apply.
To apply for the grant you should contact your school's admissions and benefits team. You will need a proof of address, proof of identity, and proof of guardianship of your child when applying.
These could include a utility bill or council tax statement, a driver's license or passport, and a birth certificate or adoption papers. You will also need a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions, or a recent bank statement, which proves your income or confirms you are receiving one of the benefits required for eligibility.
Most councils usually make the payments for the grant in July or August before the new school year starts, but this can vary between councils. The average time is 10 to 15 working days once you submit your application.
If you're not eligible for the grant, there are some other ways to save money on school uniform costs. The deals site TopCashback is offering £10 cashback on a £10 spend on TU clothing. TU via Sainsbury's offers a wide range of school uniform choices, and this cashback means you could get some of the uniform pieces for free with cashback.
Buying non-branded school uniforms from your local supermarket is another way to save money if your child's school allows generic uniforms with no branding, or if the school sells embroidered badges that can be ironed on. Aldi has prices starting at £1.50 for one sweatshirt, whereas Morrisons has prices starting at £3.50 for two sweatshirts, or from £4 for two sweatshirts at Asda and Tesco.
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