School uniform swap shop 'helps save money and tackles second hand clothes stigma'

A man who set up a uniform swap shop at his children's primary four years ago now has more than 200 schools involved.

Jon from Cardiff came up with the idea as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, to help parents with the financial burden of paying for a uniform which can run into hundreds of pounds.

From a plastic collection box outside Jon's house, the Free School clothes scheme has now launched a website and 8,000 items have been exchanged.

Jon says the website, which launched in March, has the potential to save Welsh families more than £50m a year in total.

Figures from the UK government put the average cost of a uniforms at about £343 annually for primary school children and £442 for a comprehensive pupil.

"If you've got more than one kid that's a significant additional cost to the family budget," said Jon.

"This free online swap shop built around the school community and families means they can list their good quality outgrown school clothes and offer them to other families within the school community for free and other families can then browse and request items and they can arrange a local collection of the items that they need.

"We always say second hand doesn't need to be mean second best."

Both Jon's children Tom, 10 and Sion, six, help their dad with sorting the clothes out.

Tom described the early days as "chaotic".

"The front room was just full of school clothes and there was a table with loads of clothes on and then more tables with more school clothes on them and I helped with sorting them by age and school," he said.

Almost half of parents said they're worried about the cost of school uniforms, according to research by the charity Save the Children and the Baby Bank Alliance network.

Elise, a mum of three, has just picked up a new uniform for her son Charlie.

"It's really expensive, I've got three kids you've got to get jumpers, T-shirts, trousers, shoes, double all of them because of the washing, so it's amazing for saving money but also I never buy anything new if I can help it because it seems such a waste when there's pre-loved which can be handed on."

Elise said she can always find what she needs through the scheme.

"You can say 'oh I'm really looking for some jumpers in age seven to eight or has anyone got the school uniform or the PE kit that we need' and nine times out of 10 somebody would be able to go 'oh yeah, I have actually I was going to pass that on or do something with it' and then we swap it over."

Jon started the scheme at his children's school, Ysgol Treganna in Cardiff in 2022, and still organises the swaps for the school, working with deputy head, Gareth Evans.

"At the end of each half term, myself and Tom will look at what's left in lost and found, basically what hasn't been reclaimed and then Tom and his group of friends will then bag everything up and take them home to Jon to add to the website," said Evans.

Jon's scheme isn't just about easing the financial strain on families, it's also about sustainability.

He said: "This is helping families to save both their pocket and the planet and I think that extra dimension around the environment has really captured people's interest in this initiative.

"There are 30,000 schools within the UK, all or most will be using school uniforms in one way shape or form, so the potential is definitely there to help many more schools.

"What matters most for me is the culture change and the change in sort of instinct around second-hand school clothes so that this becomes normal practice."

Kingsbury High School in London, which has 2,000 pupils, is involved in the scheme.

Tara Randall, the school's sustainability lead, says the initiative also takes away the stigma of asking for help with clothing your child and normalises swapping school clothes.

"There's a certain street cred that kids like to follow, especially at secondary school. But this is done in a discreet way, so there's no stigma.

"Parents can arrange their own drop-offs, pick-ups of uniforms, and, I guess the extra benefit on top of that is that you might find parents and carers from a community or connect in that kind of way, because it can feel very remote in secondary schools."

Some families qualify for a grant in Wales, offering up to £200 per child to cover the cost of school equipment, although it is only available to families on a low income or children in local authority care.

In England, from September uniforms will be limited to three items with a school logo, such as a blazer, jumper or sportswear plus a tie for secondary schools, to help parents save money.

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