UK Bill Help

Families on a low income with a child in school can get free uniforms, shoes, clothes, and other items. There are a few schemes that can help, including grants from a council, charity assistance programs, not for profit organisations and also Clothing Allowance Schemes from the government. The type of help provided will be based on where the pupil is going to school, whether in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. Find where to get free school items below, including from charities.

If the pupil lives in England, most of the local councils provide financial help to pay for the school supplies the child needs. Or they may link the family to a charity, including the Salvation Army, for clothes.

If a council scheme is used in England, it is often part of local welfare. This means that families on benefits, including the Universal Credit or Job Seekers Allowance among others, can get welfare grants or vouchers to not only pay their bills, but also for free stuff. That may be school uniforms, supplies the student needs, bedding, furniture, PE kits, and more. Council funds can also pay for food that a child needs to grow. Each council has their own criteria around what welfare can be used to pay for.

Wales school uniform grant is for pupils who also get free school meals. As the government knows that if the family is on a low income, and can’t pay for meals/food, they most likely can’t buy the clothes they need either. So the government in Wales provides help to those local families.

Families applying need to meet the following criteria in order to get a free uniforms. One is they need to be receiving free meals. The other is the student needs to be either aged 11 and in special school, or they need to be entering year 7 of secondary school.

The Clothing Allowance Scheme in Northern Ireland also provides a grant to help pay for school uniforms. This too will normally be provided to pupils who now get free school meals, and the pupil also needs to be in special school or primary or post-primary. Applications are accepted at the Education Authority, and the workers can answer questions, link the family to other benefits or financial help.

The school uniforms will be sold at many different places. The child or parent can buy them from local retail outlets, shops or internet suppliers. The grant given to pay for the uniforms will range from £35.75 to £56, and it will depend on if the child is in post-primary/special school or primary school. That amount of money is given to each pupil, not just the entire home.

Councils in Scotland also provide financial help to pay for school clothes, shoes or uniforms. It is part of local welfare. And is called the school clothing grant. The assistance can be paid out in one of two ways, the first being a free voucher for a shop and the second being cash transmitted to the families bank account. Both allow the parent of the child to buy exactly what the pupil needs, including shoes, bags, and much more.

There are other charities and grant programmes as well in the UK. As noted, the Salvation Army often offers low cost or free clothes and school uniforms. There are also grant based programmes from other charities. They are all different with their own application process, but the vouchers can pay for items, clothes, uniforms and more for pupils or their parents. Find a list of grants and vouchers to pay bills.

Pupils should not need to go without the supplies and uniforms they need for a new school year. The councils, as well as local charities, can all help.