Building Blocks community hub offers free school uniform lifeline to Sunderland families struggling with cost of living

Building Blocks community hub is offering free pre-loved school uniform clothing for struggling families

With the city in the grip of the cost of living crisis, many parents are worried about where they will find the money to purchase school uniforms for the start of the new school year.

The latest research from the charity The Children's Society found parents spend on average £287 on primary uniforms and £422 a year on secondary uniforms - a cost which for many parents dealing with spiralling bills is simply unaffordable.

To help families in Washington, Building Blocks Day Centre in Concord is offering the chance for parents to collect free school uniform items covering all schools in the catchment area.

The community hub currently has over one thousand pre-loved clothing items including blazers, school shoes, trousers, jumpers and sports kits.

Building Blocks founder, Lee Nichoslson, said: “People are struggling to put food on the table at the moment and this is just another expense.

"When we started this scheme two years ago we had around 100 families but with the cost of living at the moment, judging by the number of emails and Facebook messages we are getting, more and more people are asking for help with uniforms for the coming year.

“It’s not just people on benefits, but also families in work who are struggling to make ends meet.

“From January, we will have six children of our own in school, needing uniforms and so I know how expensive it can be.

“If you  buy all the branded items you are probably talking over £1,000. As children grow, you can often end up having to replace uniforms each year and many families simply can’t afford to.”

Donations of uniform items have been received from Together For Children Sunderland and some schools including St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.

Parents have also been donating items their children have outgrown, with all clothing checked to ensure they are of an appropriate standard.

Lee said: “There's a lot of wear left in all the uniform items. There’s nothing there that I wouldn’t be willing to dress my own children in.”

Despite the Government introducing the School Uniforms Bill in 2021, which provided statutory guidance to schools to remove more expensive branded items, Lee said the majority of Washington schools still require pupils to purchase branded items with the school’s emblem or badge.

Lee said: “I get that schools want to have clothing with their own badge as it gives them an identity, but this additional cost can often be difficult for parents and it has not helped that some schools have changed their badges.

“A lot of the clothing which has been donated is the official branded school uniform items with badges which will be a big help for parents. 

“Most schools still seem to want people to buy branded items and I think more needs to be done to allow parents to buy cheaper, more generic school clothes.

“We’ve had donations from a couple of schools but it would be good to work together with more schools to help local families.”

People can collect uniform items every Thursday from Building Blocks Day Centre, although the community hub is also planning on providing additional designated days for both donations and collections.

Lee said: “There's no judgement of people here. I’ve been in this situation myself and it’s not always easy to ask for help but I would urge anyone in Washington needing help with school uniforms to get in touch.”

You can contact Building Blocks via their Facebook page or by emailing [email protected]

The community hub is now on Sunderland City Council's official list of providers for pre-loved school uniform items.