Parents pay £1,000 per year to send child to state primary school, £2,300 for secondary kids

• Jump in costs since 2022
• Growing gap between costs and income making it harder for kids to get on at school
• Government must use child poverty strategy to improve living standards for families

Parents pay at least £1,000 a year to send a child to state primary school in the UK and nearly £2,300 to secondary school – a jump in costs of 16% and 30% respectively since 2022, far outstripping both inflation (8%) and earnings growth (12%) during the same period, new research from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) finds.   

The calculation comes from an assessment of what parents think is the minimum needed for children to attend and participate in school – and shows that family finances can act as a barrier to a child’s education, attainment, and experience of school life.  

Using wraparound childcare, going on additional school trips, learning a musical instrument or taking part in after-school clubs, for example, are not included in this calculation and would lead to significantly higher costs.  

The key drivers of the stark rises since 2022 are the cost of food during the school day (including food at lunchtime and snacks), an increased need for technology, including devices, and, for secondary school pupils, higher subject costs such as art and design materials, on top of other learning costs such as textbooks and stationery.   

Kate Anstey, head of education policy at Child Poverty Action Group said: 

"Parents are struggling to cover household bills while also forking out for pencils and PE gear at school. And still their children get priced out of school activities. Government’s forthcoming child poverty strategy must improve living standards for families. Help with the cost of the school day - including an expansion of free school meals and cash support with uniform costs in England – would make a huge difference to parents and kids alike. And unless the strategy scraps the two-child limit, more and more children across the UK will see their potential – in and outside the school gates - stunted by poverty."   

When children don’t have what they need for learning, they report not being able to fully participate in lessons, struggling with homework and sometimes facing sanctions such as detentions or behaviour points as a result. 

“My children often feel that they are judged by others and feel left out as they can’t afford to take part in other activities and won’t ask for stationery items and often get behaviour points as they don’t have the equipment needed” 

(Parent in Wales, 2024)  

School uniform costs are still a significant expense for parents but the minimum price tag has been reduced slightly since 2022, with parents reporting there is now more flexibility about where uniform can be bought, particularly for primary-aged children. This change may be a result of the DfE’s guidance on school uniform in England, which puts a statutory responsibility on schools to prioritise uniform affordability. This comes alongside changes to government school uniform guidance in Scotland and Wales during this period. However, for secondary-aged pupils the list of items that need to be purchased from a school stockist remained extensive in 2024, including a tie, blazer, skirt, polo shirts, PE shorts, PE jogging bottoms, socks and a hoodie. 

While some families can receive help with school costs, this varies by UK nation - with England providing least – and where it does exist, the extra support only applies to a small proportion of families or only covers a fraction of the costs. The UK government does not provide families in England with cash support for buying school uniform and kit, as happens in all other UK nations.   

CPAG’s findings are based on the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) research undertaken by CRSP, which since 2008 has set out what the public thinks is needed for a minimum socially acceptable living standard in the UK. Focusing on education, researchers at CRSP costed up what parents who took part in focus groups between 2012 and 2024 agree children and their families need specifically to meet children’s minimum educational needs, and how this has changed over time. 

Notes to editors:

Read CPAG’s report: 'The minimum cost of education', with a full breakdown of school costs for parents

Parents may be available for interview via CPAG's press office - 07816 909302

• The cost of a minimum education includes one residential trip in primary school and educational outings in secondary school eg, trips to the theatre, and one end-of-year reward trip.
• The MIS research is carried out at UK level, however, there is variation across the UK in terms of the support provided to families with school costs and government efforts to reduce costs. CPAG’s School Sums report (2023) outlines these differences.
• The Scottish Government has committed to scrapping the two-child limit policy for families in Scotland by 2026. However, families elsewhere will remain subject to the cut without UK government intervention.   

CPAG media contact: Jane Ahrends [email protected] 07816 909302