"You can just see the weight of worry lift off their shoulders." That is how Keeva Watson from Redeeming Our Communities (ROC) describes how parents react when getting uniforms from the organisation’s School Uniform Project. The project, which started out in west Belfast six years ago, now runs seven centres throughout Belfast and Dundonald during the summer months.
It and other organisations help parents with uniform costs by providing free items. Ms Watson told BBC News NI that 500 children, or "the equivalent size of a primary school", have benefited from the project. “And we're only half-way through the summer,” she adds.
"You can just see the weight of worry lift from their shoulders when they come in: ‘Are you sure we can take this?’ they'd say. “Even if they're just coming in for a blazer, we're saving them £70-£75." A 2023 School Costs survey found that school uniforms were the top expense for parents and carers in Northern Ireland - both in the primary and post-primary school sectors.
At St John's Parish Hall on the Falls Road, there's a steady flow of parents picking up items for free. Single mother-of-two children Katherine says she is "struggling - the price of everything is just getting ridiculous". She tries to save throughout the year but it's "tough because the cost of everything is going up".
Both of her children go to grammar schools where most items are branded. So far, she has paid £200 to kit out one of her children and that's not including.