PARENTS across the region have had enough of paying almost £90m a year on school uniforms, according to research by The Children’s Society.

A report by the charity, The Wrong Blazer: Time for action on school uniform costs, reveals families are forking out an average of £251 per year for each child at a state primary school and £316 for a child at a state secondary.

Across the region, parents spend an estimated £89.4m per year on school uniforms and accessories.

Parents are so stretched that around 24,000 children in the North-East have gone to school in incorrect, unclean or poorly fitting uniforms because of the cost, the research shows.

In North Yorkshire parents are spending around £18.8m a year on school uniforms for each child and sending them to school in ill-fitting uniforms on 13,587 occasions.

Much of the high cost can be chalked up to school uniform policies that make parents buy specific items of clothing and accessories from specialist shops – rather than allowing them to grab bargains from supermarkets and sew on a badge.

A survey of 1,000 parents found 95 per cent of parents believe the amount they are expected to pay is “unreasonable”.

The survey was commissioned to support the work of the Children’s Commission on Poverty.

The Children’s Society estimates that parents across England pay about £2.1 billion per year on school uniforms.That is £1.3 billion more than what parents say would be “reasonable”.

The Children’s Society is calling on the Government to explore capping the cost of school uniforms to ensure that parents are not paying unreasonable costs, and make guidance on school uniforms statutory so schools have a legally binding commitment to keep uniforms affordable.

Lily Caprani, director of policy for The Children’s Society, said: “We know that children whose parents cannot afford the cost of specialist uniforms face punishment and bullying for not having exactly the right clothes or kit. It’s time for the Government to introduce legally binding rules to stop schools from making parents pay over the odds for items available only at specialist shops.”

One parent told researchers: “My oldest daughter, they sent her home and said she wasn’t allowed to come back until she had the correct shoes. So then I had to write a letter to say that we’ll be able to get some in a week or so, I didn’t have any money.”

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