School uniforms too expensive for nearly two thirds of parents in and around Peterborough
Parents of primary and secondary school pupils forced to shell out hundreds of pounds on uniforms each year
A new survey has revealed a significant number of parents in the East of England struggle to meet the costs of buying new school uniforms.
The poll, which was carried out by The Children's Society last month, showed 57 per cent of parents of school children (primary and secondary combined) in our region find the cost of uniforms prohibitive.
"The high cost of living has put families under intense financial strain,” said The Children’s Society’s CEO Mark Russell.
“It is no wonder parents are feeling the pinch and are quite rightly fed up with having to pay more than they need to for their children’s school uniform.”
The poll – which recorded more than 2,000 UK parents’ responses – confirmed that the expense of school uniforms continues to impose a significant financial burden, with many families shelling out hundreds of pounds annually.
One parent said they felt “lucky” that they only had one set of uniform to buy this year:
“All [of] the compulsory kit: blazer, skirt, tie, new PE kit, and multiple shirts, totals £149.20,” they explained.
“[And] that doesn't even begin to include school shoes, a new school bag, and let's not start on stationery.”
The results fly in the face of legislative efforts established two years ago to make uniforms more affordable.
The 2022 legislation aimed to reduce costs by enforcing more budget-friendly uniform policies in schools, such as promoting second-hand options and limiting exclusive single-supplier contracts.
Despite this, more than half of secondary school parents polled said they must still purchase at least three school logo branded items.
A significant number of primary school parents stated they faced similar demands.
In the recent King’s Speech, it was announced there would be a new Children’s Wellbeing Bill which will introduce legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kits a school can demand.
Mr Russell hopes this approach will bring down costs further for parents, and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities.
“We… welcome the Government’s new proposals to limit branded items and tighten up the legislation on uniform as we can see from our poll that there is much more to do on this.”