GroceryAid has launched a School Essentials Grant to reduce the financial impact on parents working in the grocery industry when children go back to school, hopefully in August for kids in Scotland.
A recent survey by The Children’s Society reported that increased school uniform costs are leaving many low-income families struggling to cope and forced to cut back on food and other essential items. The report also highlights the impact on children wearing the wrong uniform that includes pupils being bullied, feeling left out or even excluded from school.
The GroceryAid grant will help families purchase the necessities required for the start of the new school term. The grant is £150 per school-aged child (up to a maximum of three children per family), if the applicant can show they are in receipt of Child Benefit and meet the eligibility criteria.
The grant is now open to applications and closes on 30 September or when the fund has been used, whichever comes first.
It is entirely at the discretion of parents as to what counts as an essential item. The list isn’t limited to school uniforms but could be a new anorak or even a pair of football boots, for example.
GroceryAid Welfare Director Mandi Leonard commented: “GroceryAid’s School Essentials Grant will help to alleviate some of the financial strain on low income families at the start of the new school year, particularly in these unprecedented times. On average families spend around £337 on secondary school uniform each year with primary school parents paying as much as £315 a year per child.”
Visit the GroceryAid website to find out more and to apply.
