70% of parents with a child in secondary school say they're worried about meeting back-to-school costs.
Barnardos' latest Back-to-School Survey shows the worry is shared by just over half of parents with children in primary school.
81% say their child's school does not offer affordable uniform options, with the average cost of a new uniform for secondary school now €211, and €119 for primary school.
The children's charity also reports 80% of parents said their child's school were asking for voluntary contributions this year, however, most parents said the request did not seem 'voluntary'.
Our #BackToSchool survey results are in! ?
See what over 900 parents across the country have told us about how #SchoolCosts have impacted them ? https://t.co/USdN0qG9hO pic.twitter.com/hWt5R6Lino— Barnardos Ireland (@Barnardos_IRL) July 31, 2024
Barnardos is calling on the Government to bring in measures to help reduce back-to-school costs for families.
It's calling for the the free schoolbooks scheme to be extended to all secondary schools, and for affordable uniform options to be made available for all schools.
It also wants to see financial supports to help families on lower incomes to cover the cost of digital devices, such as tablets.
