Essex pre-loved school uniform charity sees demand double

Pre-loved school uniforms on rails at the Laindon School Uniform Bank in south Essex

A school uniform bank said it had experienced a huge demand for its services with parents struggling to meet rising costs.

Laindon School Uniform Bank, near Basildon, Essex, said the number of families had doubled in recent weeks.

Co-founder Cassie Bloomfield said many were finding it hard to afford branded clothing some schools insisted on.

The project is supported by donations including lost property items from south Essex schools.

Ms Bloomfield said she noticed a "surge in demand" in April for the free uniforms after energy prices first rose.

"We normally have about a couple of thousand items in store at any one time, and we noticed half of it go in a couple of weeks," she said.

The uniform project only opens for about two hours a fortnight, and would normally help kit out between 40-45 families, with an average of 250 items per session.

But in the past two weeks those numbers doubled, Ms Bloomfield said.

"In April we could see the panic. I mean I'm panicking right now myself with the cost of living and I don't even have children," she said.

Volunteers with co-founder Cassie Bloomfield (second from left) who run the school uniform bank in Laindon

The charity had also been encouraging families to take an extra non-branded jumper for the weekend when picking up uniforms.

Much of what they have to give out is in "such good condition" and has simply been outgrown by a child.

"It would be a shame for it to end up in landfill somewhere, so it's a win-win situation," she added.

The charity has given out 2,000 items to 80 families in the last week alone

The charity, which was set up two years ago, also planned to collect for a blanket drive in preparation for the winter.

"We're planning on doing that again for families in October so that families really struggling can keep their children warm," she said.

The government said help was available for struggling households.

A new law to protect parents in England from unnecessary school uniform costs will come into effect this September.

It is meant to prevent families from having to shell out on too many items with a school logo on.

However, schools that need to find a new supplier have until September 2023 to introduce those changes.

The Children's Society organisation said it expected the average cost of school uniform this year to be £315 per primary pupil and £337 per secondary pupil, unchanged from 2020.

Most of the uniforms are donated from families whose children have outgrown the clothing