Back-to-school costs a 'burden' on parents, survey says

Covering costs of sending children back to school has left almost a fifth of Northern Ireland parents cutting their spending on food, a survey has found.

More than 70% of parents believe the amount they have to pay for uniforms creates a financial burden.

The figures come from a Irish League of Credit Unions' (ILCU) survey of 1,000 parents on back-to-school costs.

It found that many parents felt trying to meet school expenses put pressure on other areas of their family budget.

Seventeen per cent of parents were sacrificing their spending on groceries as a result of back-to-school costs.

Mother-of-four Jane Crowder said she could not afford to take her children on a break during the holidays

And one Belfast mother said she could not afford to take her children on a holiday due to the cost of uniforms.

Moneylender

The survey found that 74% of parents feel schools are not doing enough to support them in keeping costs down.

On average, primary school parents spent £96 on uniforms for each child, secondary school parents spent £180.

As a result, a quarter of parents said they would find themselves in debt to cover the costs, with 12% considering using a moneylender this year.

Jane Crowder from Belfast has one child attending primary school and three at secondary level.

Jane Crowder said she spread the buying of new school uniforms for her children across the summer

She said her spend was "probably more" than £600, and she had found herself in debt as a result of the costs of sending her children to school.

"I would usually get a small loan to help me towards the uniforms," she said.

Stacked

"I start thinking about school uniforms about the start of May - you have to stretch it out across the summer.

"If you've got a bill one week you're not able to go out and buy a pair of shoes, for example. That will just have to wait until next week.

"And over the summer I just can't afford to take the kids anywhere on holiday because of the cost of school uniforms."

Brian McCrory, the president of the ILCU said costs quickly stacked up for families when other school expenses were also considered.

ILCU president Brian McCrory said parents were saving money by shopping for school uniforms online

The survey found that school lunches cost primary school parents £131 and secondary school parents £156.

Branded

And parents of primary children spent £86 on school trips, while the cost for parents of older children was £224.

"Families are under enormous financial pressures throughout the year, but particularly when kids are going back to school and especially if there's more than one child in the household," Mr McCrory said.

"Peer pressure dictates to parents that children have to get the best [items], probably branded."

But he added that parents were finding they could save money by shopping online.

"We recommend that you check what you have left over from last year and then make a list of everything you need to buy and stick to that list."