SHS in the media: the rise of school uniform poverty
News article from September 4, 2019
We were recently featured by the Guardian and The Observer in a piece on rising school uniform poverty. You can read it online here.
As the back to school excitement starts, many children and families will face significant barriers to the beginning of their school year. We support lots of children and families across the country who live in poverty and struggle to buy essential items; school uniform can be an extremely high additional cost that is simply impossible to afford.
The SHS Welfare Fund is a vital part of our toolkit and can make the difference between a child being in school and ready to learn, or missing school and thus falling behind in their education. The latter has damaging consequences for their life prospects. In recent years we have seen SHS Welfare Fund requests for school uniform rise at an alarming rate.
Without the correct uniform, children cannot attend school – unfortunately, this rule impacts deprived pupils the most and missing school can trigger a multitude of other issues. Children in school are safer, can access free school meals, and have the opportunity to make the most of their education. That’s why we strive to fulfil every school uniform request – because it is paramount to our mission of getting children in school and ready to learn – whatever it takes.
If you’d like to help more children access the education they deserve by supporting their families with the astronomical costs of school uniform, please consider donating to us today – thank you.