New school uniform rules won’t cut costs, Colne mum says

Michaela founded the community uniform and children’s clothing bank at Colne Market four years ago.

Families can visit, browse and take away items they need completely free of charge, without having to formally apply.

“It was just going to be a temporary thing over the summer, and four years later we’re still at it,” she said.

“At the end of term I get loads and loads of bags.

“We’ve got a small space that we’ve been given by the local council, and we just hang it all up, nice and neat and tidy, and people are welcome to come and fill a bag with whatever they want. It’s all free.”

She said it is a “massive way of recycling”, describing how families “come down with one size, hang it up and take the next size along”.

“All that school uniform would end up in landfill otherwise,” she said.

She added that the stigma of using second-hand uniform is “definitely” lessening

“Teenagers, even more than adults, have embraced the whole second-hand culture,” she said.

“We get teenagers coming and getting their own uniform.”

According to the Department for Education (DfE), external, the average total expenditure on school uniform, based on the items required in the school year 2023/24, was just under £250 – with PE kit cost approximately £140.

A DfE spokesperson said some families would save “up to £50 per child” when the new law comes into effect at the start of the new school year, adding the government is supporting schools to take further steps to bring down the cost of individual items.