By Niva Yadav
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A school in east London is forking out more than £100,000 to help spare struggling parents from the soaring costs of school uniforms.
Cumberland Community School, where over half of students are eligible for free meals, will cover costs for a new blazer, tie and laptop for all Year 7 students joining in September.
Around 270 students are set to receive vouchers worth up to £400, which is expected to cost the school in Plaistow in Newham £108,000.
Parents spend an average of £422 and £287 annually on secondary and primary school uniforms respectively, according to the Children’s Society.
An estimated 29% of parents this year said they will go “without heating or eating” to pay for uniforms, a survey by Census found.
The poll added 31% of parents were likely to go into debt to fund school clothing.
Cumberland Community School headteacher Ekhlas Rahman said: “For many families at our school the cost of uniform and computer equipment is an expense they can’t afford
“I have had parents in my office telling me they just can’t afford certain items, as a school we felt like we had to act.”
He added: “We don’t want circumstance to be prohibitive to a good education so we decided to foot the bill for the most expensive items.”
The headteacher also said branded items have been scrapped as part of the uniform to further reduce costs for parents.
Under the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021, schools have been advised to minimise branded items of clothing and must make arrangements to increase availability of second-hand uniforms.
The upcoming Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further by capping the number of branded items required as part of a school uniform to three items.
The reforms do not provide any financial support for parents struggling to foot the bill for rising school uniform costs.
Mr Rahman added: “These are small things, but they do add up. We know families are struggling now and we want to do everything we can to help out.”
“We are a school committed to investing in our students, so their ambitions and dreams can become a reality.”
