Not having a uniform can be a major barrier to education. It is deeply concerning that some children could be lost to education just because they don’t have the clothes they need. School uniforms, in some cases, can cost as much as £300. As families struggle with the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy bills, providing school uniforms for their children can become impossible.
That’s why Vanquis Banking Group launched it’s School Uniform Fund in June 2022, together with School-Home Support, to provide the vital support to ensure children have everything they need to attend school, be ready to learn and achieve their best potential. We continued to operate this fund during 2023, and the fund was doubled for 2024.
Since its launch, Vanquis has donated over £150,000 to the Fund to support children in a number of cities and regions, including Bradford, Blackpool, Liverpool, Manchester, East Sussex, Kent and London. It will be expanded to Birmingham and Sheffield in 2025.
As of December 2024, the project has provided nearly 10,000 items of clothing for over 2,000 children in vulnerable families across England to access new, suitable, clean and well-fitting school uniforms. In 2024 alone, the project provided almost 5,900 items of clothing to over 1,300 children.
Beyond financial assistance, helping families cover the cost of clothing helps to alleviate some of the stress that comes with preparing for each new school year, as well as the transition to winter. With school uniform and winter clothing costs being a major barrier to education for many families, the project has provided over 2,000 children with the resources needed to start the school year ready to learn, travel to school in comfort during cold weather, and boost their confidence at school.
In the past year, 7 in 10 of the children SHS worked with improved their attendance following this support. Of these children, those that were persistently absent improved attendance by an average of 11%, which is equivalent to an extra 22 days in school over the year.
“This is a desperate time for many of the families we support, with the current cost of living crisis making basic essentials unaffordable. The School Uniform Fund helps to alleviate those financial pressures and ensures children have everything they need to attend school. We are incredibly grateful for the fantastic partnership we have with Vanquis Banking Group and for the recent development of the School Uniform Fund. We love working with you to improve the lives of those we support, and we know this fund will make a huge difference to many children and their families”.
Jaine Stannard School-Home Support CEO
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