One in four parents struggling with school costs

One in four parents are struggling with the everyday costs of sending their children to school, rising to half of parents with children entitled to free school meals.

The survey by Parentkind found that even middle class families are now feeling the pinch with one in six families with household incomes over £70,000 struggling to meet school costs.

The research revealed that 2.8 million children in the UK live in households where their parents are struggling to afford the cost of sending them to school with half of all parents citing uniforms (50%) and school trips (44%) as the biggest financial headache.

The figures a much worse for parents with children entitled to free school meals, with almost two thirds (61%) concerned about the cost of uniforms and over half (52%) worrying about paying for school trips.

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive at Parentkind: "This survey is wake up call to schools and politicians around the country. The cost of living crisis is hitting more and more families, who used to have comfortable incomes but are now concerned about the cost of sending their children to school. Millions of children now face the grim reality of parents not able to buy new school uniform or the cost of school trips, covering the cost of school lunches is also a major worry for parents, especially those on the lowest incomes."