WE KNOW, THE holidays have just started and we’re talking about going back to school…
But many parents will already be trying to figure out budgets for those last two weeks in August when pencil cases, uniforms and new shoes have to be bought.
The Back to School strain parents find themselves under has been well documented over the past decade, with many charities focussing resources on helping families.
Barnardos has used its School Costs Survey for the past nine years to “keep the issue of school costs high on the political and public agenda”.
Last year, the research found that families needed to find nearly €800 to enable one child to start secondary school.
The report indicated that on average parents are paying €350 for a child in senior infants, €400 for children in 4th class in primary school and €785 for a child going into first year in secondary school.
In one case, one of the over 1,100 parents surveyed said that their child missed 17 days of school due to not having a lunch.
This year, parents of both primary and secondary students have been asked to fill out a questionnaire, detailing their experiences of the cost of education.
It includes questions about school books, clothing, footwear, photocopying, extra-curricular activities and voluntary contributions.
The deadline for participating is 20 July and the charity is hoping to have involvement from at least 1,500 mothers and fathers.
Results will be gathered by the end of the month and will inform the group’s recommendations to government ahead of the October Budget.
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