Average school uniform costs now exceed £300 and are plunging families into debt, says Raw Labels

Following a recent survey carried out by Citizens Advice, findings have shown that more than a quarter of parents are having to borrow the money needed for school uniforms due to rising costs.

With the average cost of a school uniform now exceeding £300 per year per child, many families on low incomes or with more than one child are finding it a real struggle to finance the items that their child need to comply with the rules of the school they attend.

Raw Labels, a manufacturer of iron on name labels for children says that parents are under increasing pressure to provide their child or children with the uniform essentials such as shirts, jumpers, blazers and sports kit through fear of them being bullied or stigmatised, making this more than just a financial issue.

Therefore, the company is reaching out to parents with some tips to help them minimise the cost of their annual school uniform spend without feeling that their child is poorly equipped for the new school year.

Firstly, missing pieces of school uniform can cause an even bigger hole in the weekly household budget for parents; therefore Raw Labels is urging anyone with school children to apply their iron-on name labels to stop other children taking shirts, jumpers or sports kit by mistake.

Easy to apply during the weekly wash, the iron on name labels come complete with the child’s name and cute graphic to help them identify which piece of uniform is theirs despite having several classmates with the same first name.

Secondly, standard school shirts can be picked up at supermarkets during the weekly shop for a fraction of the price of specialist school wear shops, so this is another great money saving tip for parents looking to stretch their annual school uniform budget.

One final piece of advice from Raw Labels is for parents to come together to swap or sell pieces of school uniform that no longer fits their child. Many blazers and jumpers are made to last several terms, but with children growing so quickly, the cost of replacing these items can soon spiral.

Setting up a social media group for school uniform sales and swaps is an excellent way of connecting with other parents whose children attend the same school, cutting down on uniform wastage and can significantly reduce the amount of money that parents will need to spend and stop them falling into debt.

To find out more about the range of iron on name labels from Raw Labels, visit https://www.rawlabels.co.uk/