Now that the August Bank Holiday is behind us, many parents are in back-to-school mode, fighting their way through queues in the local shoe shop and surveying the state of the school bag.

The costs facing parents as they organise their offspring to head back into the classroom each year are considerable. The annual Barnardos survey, released on Wednesday, revealed that uniforms, voluntary contribution fees and digital devices are some of the costs that worry parents most – see more on page 26.

Mobile phone usage also concerns parents. More than half of the country’s secondary schools (380 out of 722) have now applied for Government funding to provide storage solutions for students’ mobile phones. While the scheme started out with pouches, it has expanded to include lockable boxes or drop-and-collect points – all options to restrict phone usage during school hours. The intent is that it will reduce distraction in the classroom and promote more focused school environments where young people interact with their friends, rather than messaging them on TikTok. It’s also hoped this measure will reduce cyber bullying.

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The classroom that young people attend today is very different to the one that many adults experienced, and there is an argument that the €9m budget assigned to this initiative is tackling the situation head-on.

In saying that, the scheme was one of the most contentious issues when it was announced in last year’s Budget. Many parents argue that the €25 that is assigned per pupil for the pouch or storage could be put to better use. Fifty per cent of secondary school parents surveyed in the Barnardos study said that their child’s school required them to pay for digital devices, at an average cost of €430. Parents believe the introduction of free schoolbooks is being eroded by these digital costs.

Look, we live in a digital world; there is merit in students using technology in their daily learning, but it is also leading to a bigger socio-economic divide

So, when you lay it on paper, the Government is providing €25 per pupil to limit their usage of mobile phone devices in the classroom, and yet in the same breath, schools are asking parents to fork out big money for other digital devices.

One parent detailed in the survey: “My son is going into fifth year, this was the first time we were entitled to free schoolbooks, but then we were called to a meeting in the school where they advised that we would have to buy a chrome book for our child which cost €500... so there is no benefit for us for the free schoolbooks... if anything, the cost has gone up.”

Look, we live in a digital world; there is merit in students using technology in their daily learning, but it is also leading to a bigger socio-economic divide. The use of digital devices varies from school to school – and you’re more likely to find them in classrooms in more socially affluent areas, where parents can foot the bill. But this puts students from low-income backgrounds on the backfoot.

We need to look at the bigger picture to find a more equitable solution to the presence of digital devices in the classroom. This is the first year that smartphone storage is being rolled out, and its impact needs to be monitored. Are they creating a better learning environment? Or are they a Band-Aid solution, and could that money be better spent to reduce pressure on parents during the back-to-school season?