Three words: back to school. For kids, enjoying their summer holidays, these three words evoke the fear of early mornings, homework and school uniforms. For parents however, those three words can evoke so much more fear.

Unpaid bills in a bid to get school books sorted, less food on the table in the attempt to get a new school uniform. These aren’t dramatic scenarios: this is the reality faced by parents across the country, as detailed in the 2017 Barnardos Back to School survey.

This survey is consistently one of the biggest pieces of research undertaken in Ireland in the run-up to the new school year. This year, over 1,800 parents went to their computers to have their say, and June Tinsley, head of advocacy with Barnardos, says the survey gives a wide snapshot of the opinions of parents.

Speaking to Irish Country Living, she says: “Over 40% of the parents surveyed were employed full-time, while 11% were unemployed. The profile of parents is across the spectrum with representation from every county.” And many parents are really struggling, with 45% of parents having to forgo other bills or cut back on daily expenses just to deal with rising back-to-school costs.

Rising Costs

And costs really are rising. Parents now have to spend on average of €355 to equip a senior-infants pupil for September, an increase of €15 compared to 2016, while parents of first-year pupils need to be prepared to fork out up to €800 to get their child ready for secondary school, an increase of €25 from the average cost of €775 last year.

The back-to-school allowance of €200 for second-level students falls seriously short of this amount. And the situation is even more challenging for families living in rural areas. “Transport costs are an additional expense not included in our figures that we know affect families where children have to travel distances to school. Even just getting access to school transport was an issue for some,” says June.

Voluntary contributions were again a target of angst. On the upside, fewer parents were asked to make a voluntary contribution this year. However, significantly more parents have been asked to pay the mandatory classroom resources fees, which cover costs such as photocopying, classroom resource fees and art suppliers.

June says: “It is welcomed that voluntary contribution fees are being asked for less, as the average cost for a child in fourth class is €85. However, the key is in the phrasing: it is voluntary. While all parents receive the letter requesting this amount, not all pay.

“The mandatory contribution is less, approximately €45, but there is no choice – and it is putting parents under significant pressure, not just those who are from low-income families. In a family of five, where three children are in primary school, that’s an extra €135 that needs to be budgeted for,” says June.

Uniforms: The Great Debate

The survey wasn’t all bad news, however. The call for more generic uniforms seems to have been heard, with 28% of primary schools now offering that option, allowing parents to seek out the best value for money among the retailers.

While the issue of school uniforms really is the great debate, June says that mostly parents welcome a school uniform, as it instills a school ethos in the child – but the crested uniform is putting many parents under too much pressure.

In recent years, there has also been a significant increase in book-rental schemes, with 71% of primary schools offering this service. However, availability has plateaued.

“While it is fantastic that so many schools now offer this, that figure has stayed stagnant since 2015, and very few new schools seem to be embracing it,” she says.

Textbooks: Still an Ongoing Issue

“At secondary-school level, only 37% offer a book rental scheme. “It is more difficult to coordinate. There are far more subjects for children to choose from, the issue of storage and the question of who should run it means it is not embraced as readily.”

The issue of workbooks continues to haunt classroom corridors. As this is something I remember my mother giving out about when I entered secondary school in 1996, one would really thing that a solution would be found at this point.

Although the Minister issued a circulation in April of this year calling on to schools to take a more proactive approach in reducing the burden of costs on parents, June says he missed a trick in terms of supplying extra funding to support schools to implement these measures.

Future Needs

“The education system is a public service that needs to be adequately funded to ensure all children have what they need to learn the curriculum, from text books to art supplies. No other public service has to be subsidised in the way that parents are expected to make up the shortfall for their children’s education.

“In this year’s budget, we want to see €20m allocated, so that all work books and text books are provided from next year onwards, bringing us in line with Northern Ireland.

“In the long term, we want €103m per year to be invested to provide a genuinely free education system where all classroom items, books, voluntary contributions and transport are genuinely free. We need to alleviate this financial pressure on parents, give children what they need to learn. Education unlocks children’s potential and all children should hold that key.” CL