"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 a PE kit. She estimates a track suit would be about £100.
In 2023, a UK-wide report from The Children's Society found parents were spending about £422 a year on secondary school uniforms and £287 on primary school uniforms . The Education Authority in Northern Ireland currently spends about £6m a year to support 94,000 pupils as part of the uniform grant scheme. Education Minister Paul Givan has launched a consultation into the cost of school uniforms which will end in September .
The minister said: "At a time where people are facing a cost-of-living crisis, I am clear that action needs to be taken to make sure uniforms are affordable, whilst recognising the important role they play in terms of equity and a sense of community for the pupils in each school." For the past two years St Pius X College in Magherafelt has provided pre-loved uniforms at a “small fee”. The college is a green flag eco-school which means it has been given an internationally recognised award for excellence in environmental action and learning.
The money raised from the sale of uniform helps the college retain that status. Principal Peter Friel says school uniforms "can be very expensive especially if you've more than one child at school". The parents support the scheme which is about "sustainability" as well as the cost of living.
"It's a case of us trying to do whatever little bit might be of help to parents," Mr Friel says. The only branding is on the crest on the blazer, which adds a "very small cost" to the overall price. Mr Friel said although it was costly to kit out children in August, the "beauty of a school uniform is they tend to wear very well" and then there's no "fashion contest" throughout the year.
He said this added to the whole "community feeling of the school". In England, a new law mandating schools to remove unnecessary branded items from their uniform requirements came into effect in September 2022, however no such legislation exists in Northern Ireland. This is the fourth year of the "pre-loved, re-loved" school uniform scheme In Toomebridge, County Antrim.
They have uniforms for eight schools in the area and they are all free. Una Johnston, company secretary of community group Tidal, said “we are not standing over anybody". Parents can also pick up the items privately.
”Why should families have to put out that amount of money...
and the dread all summer? "It's not fair," she added. The organisation has had parents, mainly mothers, crying over "how much they've saved". In Northern Ireland, some families qualify for a one-off payment to help buy school uniforms.
The rates for the 2024-25 school year are: An additional payment of £26.40 is available for secondary school pupils to help with the cost of PE kits. There is no grant available for nursery pupils.
Applications can be made online and there is no closing date for the scheme, but payments are not backdated. Eligibility for the scheme in Northern Ireland can be found on the Education Authority website ..
