WHETHER your child is heading to primary or secondary school in the autumn, sending the kids back to the classroom isn’t cheap.
Here, money expert Rosie Murray-West reveals seven things you can get for free ahead of your little ones starting school – and you could save up to £4,000.
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The total cost for school uniform across your child’s education can hit nearly £5,000, while after school clubs, holiday childcare and school
meals bump the cost up further, according to a report by financial provider Shepherds Friendly.
Fortunately, there are many things you can get for nothing at all, or just a few pence, that can help ease the financial burden.
Here’s how you can save thousands…
School uniform
Shepherds Friendly calculates that school uniform for the primary school years costs £2,470 and secondary £2,408.
If your income is low, you may be able to get a grant towards the cost.
These grants, sometimes limited to certain year groups, can be as much as £200.
It’s a postcode lottery over what your council offers, but often if you fit the criteria for free school meals you could get a uniform grant too.
If you live in England, contact your council to see what’s available.
In Wales, all councils should offer £200 towards uniform for eligible students, while in Scotland it is at least £120.
If you don’t qualify, or your council doesn’t offer help, check with the school itself as they may have a voucher scheme.
Finally, joining the school parent Facebook page and checking on giveaway websites such as Olio may yield free uniform, while schools often hold second-hand sales selling uniform for pennies.
The government is also limiting schools on how much expensive uniform they are allowed to require parents to buy.
That means limiting branded items and trying to provide cheaper alternatives like iron-on badges.
If you feel your school uniform is too expensive you can complain to the governing body.
Morning breakfast clubs
The government is rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England, offering half an hour of free childcare as well as food.
It will take some time for these to be in every school, but once they are the government calculates they will save parents up to £450 a year.
You can find a list of the first schools to offer the clubs on the government website.
You can also check with your child’s school when they plan to
run the clubs.
Free school lunches
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically get free lunches in England, while those in London receive free lunches for the entire of primary school.
The London Assembly calculates that this saves families £500 a year per child.
If you’re outside London and your children are older, they can still get free meals if you’re in receipt of certain benefits and earn below an income threshold.
You can check eligibility on the government website and apply through your local council.
Even if your child receives universal free meals, it is still worth applying for this as your school will get more money for your child, and you’ll also be eligible for other funding such as free holiday clubs and uniform grants.
Free and tax-free holiday childcare
Children in receipt of free school meals can get free childcare in the holidays from the Holidays Activity Fund (HAF).
This childcare, funded by the government, should offer at least four hours of activities a day for six weeks a year and should include at
least one meal a day.
Councils can open this provision to vulnerable children, so if you think your family could benefit and you have children with special needs, are on a low-income or have other vulnerabilities then do speak to your school.
If you aren’t eligible for HAF, tax-free childcare can take down the cost of childminders or clubs.
This is worth up to £2,000 a year, depending on how much you
spend on childcare, and you can apply for this if you earn under £100,000, are working and do not receive Universal Credit.
To access this your child must be under 11 (or 16 with a disability).
- Saving: £2,000 a year (tax-free childcare) plus £1,044 (six weeks of HAF free childcare)
I’ve only ever bought one jumper and a shirt
Janine McDonald uses swaps and local community resources to find school uniform for her two daughters – now 13 and 15.
They’re both in different schools, with different uniform, but Janine, who is a single mum, has limited the expense by swapping and finding donated items to fit both girls.
She says: “At both schools, they have a pre-loved uniform section, so you can go in and either swap something or buy it for just literally a couple of pounds.”
In Manchester where Janine lives there are Gateway centres which are a ‘one-stop-shop’ for a wide range of council and community services.
She added: “The local gateway hubs hold a uniform Donation Point so you can just drop off any uniform there, and then anybody is free just to come and have a look and take anything that they need.
“I find they last absolutely fine, so I don’t need to buy new.
“I reckon that has saved me a couple of hundred pounds for each child.”
Janine, who has taken her recycling expertise and turned it into a decluttering business Clear the Clutter Now, says that setting up or joining a community WhatsApp group is another way to get cheap uniform.
The mum explains: “In the streets around where I live at the end of the school year, we’ll put on there, whatever age trousers we’ve got from whichever school, and then people just give them to each other.”
She recommends that parents, as well as looking for free uniform, take school uniform lists with a pinch of salt.
“You get the uniform list, and sometimes it recommends, five pairs of trousers, or X number of this, X number of that,” she says.
“Realistically, you don’t need that many.
“You can always buy one to start with and top up if needed.”
Transport to school
If you’ve been allocated a school that’s far from home you may qualify for free school transport, particularly if you are also eligible for free school meals.
Everyone is entitled to free school transport if their child goes to the nearest suitable school and that school is:
- More than two miles away and the child is under 8
- More than three miles away and the child is 8 or over
- There’s no safe walking route between their home and school
- They cannot walk there because of a mobility problem or SEN
If your child is eligible for free school meals the criteria are slightly wider.
Your child may be eligible for free school transport if the school is:
- At least two miles away and they are aged 8-11 and it is their nearest school
- Between two and six miles away if it is one of their three nearest suitable schools and they are aged 11-16
- Between 2-15 miles away if they are aged 11-16 and you chose the school because of your religion or belief
Check your local council website on how to apply if this fits your family.
You may be paid a ‘personal travel budget’ to get your children there yourself, or you may be offered taxis or buses.
If there is sufficient public transport, your child will be given a
bus pass.
In some areas all school age children get free public transport – bus travel is free for teens up to 18 in London with a Zip card, for example.
In other areas secondary school children can apply for a pass to take down the cost of transport.
For example, in Kent, the Travel Saver saves 50%.
- Saving: £550 for Kent Travel Saver, £1,140 for free transport (based on the cost oftwo child bus fares a day)
Learning resources
Paying for expensive tuition sites or one-to-one tutors can add up, but you can use the following sites for nothing to help your children learn.
Free online lessons funded by the government
Learning aligned to all curriculum stages from our national broadcaster
A free learning platform for all curriculum stages with online quizzes
Saving: Depends on usage
Extracurricular activities
Dance, sport, and music can add up, with the cost of a £20 half-hour music lesson ten times a term coming in at hundreds of pounds.
But some extra curricular activities are available for free or very cheap.
- Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownies
These volunteer activities can cost as little as £50 a year and may have grants for low income families
Schools and local councils offer music lessons for free to many low-income children, so if you are on free school meals you may find your child gets free music lessons in school.
Or contact your local council music hub for more details.
Exceptionally talented children in music and dance may get means-tested funding through the Government’s Music & Dance Scheme to attend Saturday schools or ballet or music specialist schools.
These bursaries are audition-based and funded by the Department for Education.
What help is available to parents for childcare costs?
CHILDCARE can be a costly business. Here is how you can get help.
- 30 hours of free childcare – Parents of three and four-year-olds can apply for 30 hours of free childcare a week.
To qualify you must work at least 16 hours a week at the national living or minimum wage and earn less than £100,000 a year. - Tax credits – For children under 20, some families can get help with childcare costs.
- Tax-free childcare – Available to working families and the self-employed, for every £8 you put in the government will add an extra £2.
