help with secondary School Uniform

rukia2004

Does anyone know about School Uniform Grants, or whatever they are called now? My son will be going to secondary school in september and just got the list and it will cost me well over £300

This would be based on me living in London and claiming Income Support.

Thanks for any advice

Kimberley

The uniform grant is about £52 i think for secondary school, you won't get the full £300 i'm afraid. My kids school has their own uniform, but i still buy mine from supermarkets etc, the school hasn't said anything to me about it as long as the child is tidy and in school colours. Some schools are strict on this so i would go into the school he will be starting and tell them that you cannot afford the £300 and if a cheaper alternative is ok.

You need to go into your local LEA and ask them for the forms

julesgr

Unfortunately every borough has different policies on uniform grants, there is no set standard.

When I worked in the grants section parents would get approx £60 for the first year at secondary school and then about the same in the 3rd year and a bit less for the last year.

Your local education department will be able to tell you if they offer grants and also ask them if they know of any charities that offer assistance as we had a few locally.

rukia2004

Thanks for your replys

KathrynPenguin

If I were you I would see what other kids at the school are wearing but BEWARE - as a teacher we tend to try and crack down hard on the newer kids to get them into the right mindset uniform wise, our current year 11's were in school when rules were less rigid and therfore get away with more. ALSO the older kids sometimes have the arguement that they have "grown out" of their school jumper/blazer etc and its not worth paying out for a new one with just a few months left to go.

Its because parents let kids relax their uniforms that schools have to tighten up and insist on school branded clothing. Before we started putting logo's on everything, girls were in very fitted shirts & jackets (instead of blazers - a la Britney!) and a Black V necked jumper was interpreted as "black jumper, cardigan, round neck, turtle neck, etc etc". To be honest lack of logo would be easily overlooked if the clothing was a suitable style for a school child and not a fashion plate.