 Hayley Millward ( Hayley Millward) 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.' Uniform prices are huge for branded items ( Getty Images/Image Source) 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 un){kind=link}
Under the new uniform law’s 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
Demand for donated school Âuniforms has soared with working parents now among those unable to afford to clothe their children.
Charity leaders have reported steep Âincreases 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”.