Giffnock Primary School in East Renfrewshire's Parent Equalities Group has been running a monthly pop-up uniform stall where parents and carers can donate pre-loved uniform and pick up items that they need.
The newly formed Giffnock Primary School parent equalities group in East Renfrewshire adapted a Cost of the School Day survey to find out how families had been affected financially by Covid and lockdown.
Talking about costs and money with parents and carers can feel difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. This resource is full of insights from parents and carers about how schools can communicate with them about costs, make them aware of the entitlements for school age children, and how to make sure families feel comfortable enough to open up when there are financial problems at home.
Resources developed with a focus on England, Scotland or Wales to fit the needs of each nation's schools and curriculum, but most of them can easily be adapted for other areas.
These activities can help your group to start conversations, consider what impact poverty and costs can have on school life and think about what action you're going to take. This is all about how you might go about taking action.
When CPAG in Scotland and the University of Aberdeen organised a roundtable event at the Scottish Parliament to discuss school uniform affordability and the school clothing grant with MSPs, we knew it was vital to hear directly from young people.
A learner from Trinity High School in South Lanarkshire took part in a special event in the run up to the general election, where young people asked questions direct to candidates from several major parties, and offered a chance for young people to ask questions about the things that matter to them, which included costs at school, the closure of youth clubs and services, tacking child poverty and the difficulties young people are having accessing college places.
