12th November 2014 5:00
By Blue Tutors
An inquiry by the Children’s Commission on Poverty has shown that millions of families are struggling with the hidden costs of sending their children to state school. The study revealed that parents struggle to pay for school uniforms, dinners, course materials and school trips, which together can cost upwards of £800 a year. Children from low income backgrounds reported falling behind academically and being bullied because poverty made them stand out at school. The study found that for some schools, uniforms cost more than £500 alone, prompting the Children’s Commission to say that free education is far from a reality in England.
Although the government provides guidance on school uniform which obliges schools to ensure that uniforms are affordable, research by the Children’s Commission showed that many schools are not sticking to the guidelines. In some schools students were obliged to buy uniforms costing over £500, whilst other schools were illegally requiring students’ families to pay for curriculum course-related materials. The study also found that schools did not do enough to protect children from the stigma of poverty. Some schools inadvertently adopted practices which identified some students as “poor” to their classmates, such as requiring those who require free school meals to be served separately from their peers.
Parents surveyed said that there is an increasing trend for schools to adopt uniforms more commonly seen at private schools such as embroidered blazers and specialist gym kit. The reason for this is likely to a desire to be seen to be raising standards, but the cost is cripplingly expensive for some parents. The commission’s report found that at one academy, a new uniform was introduced which was twice the cost of the previous one. The study found that over 70 parents at the school had to take out loans to cover the cost of the new uniform. The report recommends that Ofsted should evaluate schools in part based on how well they support the poorest students, and encourage teachers to be sensitive to the needs of students from lower-income families.