Julita Waleskiewicz<\/span>East of England<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n A mother-of-three said she has found it “scary” trying to keep up with the cost of sending her children to school.<\/p>\n Lauren Barford-Dowling, 27, from Luton, described the price of uniforms, shoes, meals and trips as “daunting”.<\/p>\n Level Trust, a Luton-based charity that provides free school supplies to families, said demand for its services had risen by up to 20% compared with last year.<\/p>\n “You want them to look their best, but it’s hard to keep up,” Ms Barford-Dowling added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ms Barford-Dowling has three children aged 10, six and five \u2013 and a fourth on the way.<\/p>\n She said branded jumpers and tops have risen in price, adding: “I worry about having enough money for all the essentials like shoes, trainers, trousers, dresses, tops.<\/p>\n “Three pairs of trainers cost over \u00a3100 \u2013 and they’ll be ruined in a couple of months. It’s scary.”<\/p>\n School meals also add to the pressure, she said, and her eldest child’s lunches cost \u00a344 a month. <\/p>\n “When all three move up to Key Stage 2, I’ll be paying nearly \u00a3100 a month just so they can eat,” she added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ms Barford-Dowling said the Level Trust provided her children with free school shoes and trainers for PE.<\/p>\n Kerri Porthouse, the deputy chief executive of the charity, explained demand for the organisation’s services have risen. <\/p>\n “We’ve already seen an increase of between 15% and 20% compared with last year.<\/p>\n “That’s 200 more families in July and August alone. It’s a huge increase for a charity to cope with. <\/p>\n “Parents with children moving into reception or secondary often don’t realise how much uniform is needed until school begins. Then they come to us in a panic,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Research by the Child Poverty Action Group found it cost \u00a31,000 a year to send a child to primary school and \u00a32,300 for secondary.<\/p>\n Kate Anstey, the group’s head of education policy, said children from low-income families were dropping subjects because of the price of trips and equipment.<\/p>\n “Too many children are growing up in poverty, and it’s having a stark impact on their school day,” she said.<\/p>\n A Department for Education spokesperson said: “No child should face barriers to their education because of their family’s finances. <\/p>\n “We are capping the number of branded uniform items schools can require, and from 2026 all children in households on Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Lauren](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/d86a\/live\/1a19bb60-8eee-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp\")
Lauren Barford-Dowling<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250905-110137-f27f908f49-web-2.29.1-3\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Kerri](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/4a35\/live\/b8ca0d30-8ef0-11f0-b2fb-b305ad4c1d66.jpg.webp\")
Kerri Porthouse<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Dawid](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/5f3f\/live\/1def1db0-6943-11ef-b43e-6916dcba5cbf.jpg.webp\")
Dawid Wojtowicz\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n