“Free School Day” Campaign

The Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network’s lived experience advisory panel, the Focus Project and the Foyle Network Foundation’s campaign group have been collaborating on a campaign to reduce the cost of the school day.

We have engaged with families across the Derry City area on the cost of the school day, particularly the stress of uniforms and the increase in the cost of school dinners. We have heard from many families struggling to make ends meet.

To that end, we have designed and launched a postcard to Education Minister Paul Givan calling for a “free school day”.

Here are what some families have been saying about the cost of the school day:

The cost of school especially the Primary School is continuing to grow each year and it is affecting my wage monthly and sometimes these changes are sudden and no parent communication until change made, which can affect planning for payment. The cost of the uniform needs to be purchased over several months – I start in May and continue through to August with some part of uniform purchased across these months so it impacts on money available for spending during the holidays and credit card debt increases so making it hard to save and now trying to think ahead for Christmas.

This year I’ve had to take out a credit card to pay- totaled everything up and it was close to 400 pound for 3 children and that was only one jumper each for the primary school children and no new blazer for the secondary school child.

[I am] borrowing money from family, using buy now pay later. Money is tight over summer when I should be taking the children away on family days. Even struggling with other bills.

The school dinners seem very expensive with itemised prices and a poor selection. Should a child not have enough to cover the cost of an item they are refused. My child has on occasion had to cover the cost for friends who might not have had enough money on their account. It is however heartbreaking to think if a child did not have that option they would be left hungry that day.

The cost of school dinners puts me off sending my child to canteen each day even though I would prefer they get a hot meal, especially in the winter months. The increase announced [last Autumn] feels like another slap in the face to families and particularly families who aren’t entitled to any help.

Cost of school meals does not cover my daughter at secondary school. I have to put extra money for her to get a drink or more food on the parent pay app. [There are] issues additionally with lack of food at the canteen, and poor choice especially when my child has additional needs and is fussy as it is.

I would love to send my kids to afterschool [clubs], but I can’t afford them and they are missing out. And for school trips, she has to miss out on them too.

[There are] not many clubs offered due to cost and shortage of staff. Trips are only once a year, but limited to where the school can afford to go, due to cost of coaches.

The school is doing its best with very limited funds and relies on donations and fundraising to allow children to have what I think of as the bare minimum. [The school is] fundraising to buy headphones, ipads, and to help contribute towards cost of school trips.​ Nearly every week there is a different fundraiser that has to be contributed to.​ The school sends out sponsor forms for what seems every holiday. We’ve had 2 or 3 already and it is only November. My children are too young to go around the street, therefore it is left up to me to put money in on the sponsor sheets.

NIAPN has collected hundreds of comments from families who are at the end of their tether. The Department for Education needs to urgently address the high cost of the school day and work with schools, parents, children and communities to tackle this growing problem.

NIAPN calls on the Department of Education to:

1. Commit to a pathway towards the expansion of good quality and healthy Universal Free School meals by immediately extending FSMs to those in receipt of Universal Credit (with auto-enrollment), those in nursery and the youngest years in primary school.
2. Cap the cost of school uniforms and immediately call on schools to end the practice of branded and monogramed PE uniforms.
3. Increase funding for after schools programming, arts, music and sport so that all students have access to a well-rounded education.
4. Increase pay and strengthen working conditions in line with trade union demands for classroom assistants who are integral to the functioning of every school.

Contact Becca if you would like postcards to fill out and send to Minister Paul Givan.

If you live in the Derry area, the Focus Project organise a school uniform scheme over the summer at Ráth Mór with used and new uniforms. For more information contact Amie Gallagher, Focus Project Coordinator.