What is the School Uniform Project?
The cost of living crisis has seriously affected our community, with more and more families unable to afford the essentials. In Manchester, an area with 37% of children living in poverty, support purchasing the essentials is absolutely critical for many families.
As an anti poverty charity we identified several years ago the need for community support around the cost of school uniform. Though school uniform costs vary between schools, we have found that the cost of a full set of logo-ed secondary school uniform is around £150. This is a huge one time expense that does not factor in the cost of non-logo items such as shirts and shoes. According to a 2020 survey conducted by The Children’s Society, 23% of parents said that the expense of school uniform led to their children having to wear “ill-fitting, unclean or incorrect uniform”.
To meet this need within our community (North Trafford & South Manchester) Bridging the Gap have been delivering uniform projects supporting families since 2022. They are confident of the effectiveness of their projects and the significant impact it has.
During the 24/25 financial year they supported over 500 children with both new and preloved school uniform.
