school uniform grant application form
The easiest way to apply for this benefit is by contacting your local council. You can find your local council through the Gov.UK website.
What is a School Uniform Grant? How much can I get? Is my child eligible? If you have children and are low on income, you could be eligible for this aid. Additionally, this is also true if you are eligible for free school meals. Your Benefits will tell you everything you need to know about School Uniform Grant in 2022.
How to apply for school uniform grant
Your child may be eligible to receive help with their school uniform through the School Uniform Grant. Additionally, this can be the same for things like PE kits. Usually, this kind of help can be offered by your local council. However, you may also ask your school if this is not the case.
To know if you can receive a School Uniform Grant, you may enter your postcode on the Gov.UK website, to check if your local council offers this kind of help. In fact, the school uniform grant application form in 2022 is on the Gov.UK website.
Furthermore, you do not only need to live in England to receive this benefit. In fact, you may get a School Age Grant if you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
School Uniform Grant NI
You may claim a School Uniform Grant in 2022 if you live in Northern Ireland. More specifically, to get a grant to cover uniform costs, you may claim the Clothing Allowance Scheme.
Schools must make sure that their uniforms can be bought from more than one supplier. As a parent, you may think the uniform policy is unfair. In this case, you can ask the school to change it.
There are criteria to be eligible for the Clothing Allowance Scheme. However, they are very similar to the ones to qualify for the free school meals. Pupils may only apply to receive one Clothing Allowance Scheme for each school year.
You may not earn a Clothing Allowance Scheme if your child goes to reception classes, or nursery schools or units. However, if they do not, they may be eligible to receive the following amounts:
- £35.75: this amount is for pupils in primary school;
- £51: this amount is for pupils in post-primary or special school. They must also be younger than 15 years old;
- £56: this amount is for pupils in post-primary or special school. They must also be older than 15 years old;
- £22: this amount is for pupils in post-primary or special school. It is meant to go towards the cost of a physical education kit.
You must apply for the School Uniform Grant through the Education Authority. Note that you may not have the time or money to buy a uniform. If this is the case, the school must accommodate to a certain extent.
School Uniform Grant Wales
If you live in Wales, you could receive a Pupil Development Grant. This grant was formerly known as the School Uniform Grant. You may contact your local authority to receive this grant. In fact, contact them to claim it and for additional information.
Disclaimer
Your child may be currently receiving free school meals. If this is the case, they could receive a grant of £125 for pupils. Additionally, those going into year 7 can earn a £200 grant. However, note that all school years may earn this grant.
You may have children in certain school years. Additionally, your child may be eligible for free school meals. Then, you can claim this grant if your child is in one of the following:
- Primary school: this is from reception to year 6;
- Secondary school: this is from year 7 to year 11.
Your child may not receive free school meals. However, all children that are looked after are eligible for this grant. In fact, families can claim the School Uniform Grant in 2022 once per school year and per child.
This scheme will stop receiving funding for the 2021 to 2022 year on 30 June 2022. Additionally, funding for the 2022 to 2023 year will be open starting summer 2022.
School Uniform Grant Scotland
If you live in Scotland, you may claim School Uniform Grant in 2022. You could get help covering shoes and clothing costs. The name of this benefit is the ‘School Clothing Grant‘.
You may contact your local council to receive this grant. In fact, contact them to claim it and for additional information. Typically, they will take applications from July to late March.
Typically, this scheme is paid straight into your bank account as a cash grant. Additionally, the amount of money you receive depends on your local council. However, if you are eligible for the grant, you will get this or more:
- £120 (this is per child, for those of primary school age);
- £150 (this is per child, for those of secondary school age).
If you are claiming the School Clothing Grant, you could claim free school meals at the same time. Being eligible for one benefit could likely mean that you are eligible for the other.
Families can receive a single School Clothing Grant every school year. Additionally, you could be able to claim Best Start Grant School Age payment. In fact, it is a £250 payment that can be received for a child beginning primary 1.
School Uniform Grant eligibility
Free school meals are a way to help children if their parents cannot cover meal costs. In fact, this can be the case for you if you are on a low income. Additionally, if you are eligible for free school meals, you can likely get help with uniforms and transport.
You may not be sure if you are low on income. If you receive means-tested benefits like Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or tax credits, you likely qualify. If you are still unsure, you may ask your local education authority (LEA).
The number of pupils eligible for free school meals keeps increasing every year. In fact, in October 2020, 1.63 million pupils qualified for free school meals. This is equal to 19.7% of the student population at the time.
Remember, if your child is eligible for a School Uniform Grant, they are likely eligible for free school meals (and vice versa). There are a large number of students who are eligible for free school meals every year:
| Proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals from January 2018 to December 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September to December 2020 | January to April 2020 | January to April 2019 | January to April 2018 | |
| Total number of pupils eligible for free school meals | 1,633,698 | 1,440,788 | 1,270,941 | 1,106,633 |
| Total number of pupils | 8,299,034 | 8,313,488 | 8,238,809 | 8,153,225 |
| Percentage of eligible pupils | 19.7% | 17.3% | 15.4% | 13.6% |
Can my child receive free school meals?
Your child may not need to apply for free school meals in 2022. Indeed, they may already qualify if they are either in reception class or year 1 or 2. Then, they will be able to get free school meals automatically.
Your child may receive free school meals automatically, but you could still be low on income. Then, still tell your local council that this is your situation. Then, you and your school could receive additional help. Additionally, it may make applying for a School Uniform Grant easier.
What if I do not have access to public funds?
The qualifications for the School Uniform Grant and free school meals are similar. Furthermore, free school meals eligibility was increased in 2021 to include some people who do not have access to public funds (NRPF).
Indeed, this is because of coronavirus. Requirements for free school meals have been relaxed. Furthermore, if you have no recourse to public funds (NRPF), contact your local council. You may still be eligible to receive both free school meals and a School Uniform Grant.
What additional help could I get?
Your child may be eligible for free school meals and/or a School Uniform Grant. If this is the case, they could also receive more aid. Indeed, they could receive help with transportation, for example.
In order to be eligible for aid with transportation, a couple of things must be true. First, your child must be between 5 and 16 years old. Second, they either need to live far from their school, or be unable to walk to it. Then, you may be eligible to receive help from your local education authority (LEA).
An older child may still receive transportation help. Indeed, this is if they are in a sixth form or an apprentice. Also note that your travel expenses may not be automatically paid for by your local education authority (LEA). Indeed, they can be refused help if your LEA believes there is an alternative.
