The Cost of the School Day project provides a range of resources for schools and local authorities who are trying to remove or reduce financial barriers to education. Some of our resources have been developed with a focus on England or Scotland to fit the needs of each nation's schools and curriculum, but most of them can easily be adapted for other areas.
Not sure where to start? Our toolkits (for Scotland / England / Wales) are a great starting point for schools looking to take action on poverty.
On this page, you'll find:
UK resources:
- The Cost of the School Day calendar
- Supporting families in times of financial hardship: a guide for schools
- Cost of the School Day podcast
Scotland resources:
- The Cost of the School Day toolkit (our most popular resource for schools)
- The Cost of the School Day Ideas Bank (new resource, just launched in January 2023)
- The Cost of the School Day eLearning (new resource, just launched in February 2023)
- Talking about Costs and Money at School: animation and resource for schools
- Our practice films
England resources:
- Turning the Page on Poverty toolkit (our most popular resource for schools)
- Working group guide
- School uniform guide
Wales resources:
- The Cost of the School Day Calendar (Welsh language)
- The Cost of Having Fun at School (Welsh language)
Briefings:
- Reducing the cost of the school day in Wales, 2022
- Fixing Lunch: The case for expanding free school meals, 2021
- Parentkind and CPAG poll: Extending the school day, 2021
- The Cost of Missing Lunchtime: A briefing on free school meals in the North East, 2021
- Extended school provision, 2021
- Digital exclusion during the pandemic, 2021
Reports:
- The Cost of Having Fun at School, 2022
- The Cost of the School Day in England: Pupils' Perspectives, 2022
- The Cost of Learning in Lockdown: family experiences of school closures, 2020
- The Cost of Learning in Lockdown: March 2021 update
- The Cost of Learning in Lockdown: March 2021 update (Scotland)
- Cost of the School Day Glasgow report and summary, 2015
- Cost of the School Day Dundee report and summary, 2018
- The Cost of the School Holidays
report, 2015
UK resources
The Cost of the School Day calendar 2023-24
|
The Cost of the School Day calendar aims to help schools identify possible cost barriers during the academic year, and think about some alternatives to make sure all children and young people can fully participate in education.
|
 |
Scotland resources
The Cost of the School Day toolkit for schools in Scotland
|
The Scotland toolkit is designed to get everyone at school talking about Cost of the School Day. It's a comprehensive guide to the process, from discussing issues around costs to working out which approaches and projects will suit your school. |
 |
Talking about Costs and Money at School
|
Talking about school costs and money can be challenging but doing it well helps to break down financial barriers to education and makes sure families get the support they need. We've put together an easy-to-digest animation and a detailed PDF with five clear steps, along with examples and case studies. |
 |
Cost of the School Day films
We've heard from children and young people, teachers and school staff, parents and carers who's school has already made Cost of the School Day changes. They've been telling us about the measures they've put in place, and the difference it's made to their schools.
| Cost of the School Day across Scotland | Resources for learning at Netherburn Primary | Uniforms at Port Glasgow High School |
View all our good practice films
England resources
Turning the Page on Poverty Toolkit
|
Our Turning the Page on Poverty toolkit is a practical guide for school staff in England, to help tackle poverty and the cost of the school day. It has information on poverty and ideas for how to reduce the costs of the school day, and was developed in collaboration with Children North East and the National Education Union. |
 |
Working group guide
|
A Cost of the School Day working group can support, guide and monitor your school’s efforts to reduce costs and remove barriers to participation in education for children from low-income families. This guide has advice on developing an effective working group to help drive change and draw on experiences and solutions from across the whole school community. |
 |
School uniform guide
|
Are you a school looking to develop pre-loved uniform provision or update your school uniform policy? Our affordable school uniforms guide has practical tips and advice to help you out. The Department for Education has published new statutory guidance for schools which seeks to make school uniforms more affordable for families. To help implement the guidance, we've joined forces with the Children’s Society and Children North East to share some ideas and good practice from our research with schools through these practical guides. |
 |
Wales resources
The Cost of Having Fun at School (Welsh language)
|
The Cost of Having Fun at School captures the experiences of pupils and parents with school fun. We’ve also gathered ideas and suggestions from pupils and families about how events can be made more inclusive, and we’ve learned from good practice in schools. |
 |
Further reading
If you're interested in reading more about our work on education in the UK, you can check out the following pages: