School uniform grants: check if you can reduce costs by up to £200 with support from your council

Who's eligible for a school uniform grant

Generally, the minimum UK-wide requirement to get a school uniform grant is to qualify for means-tested free school meals – even if you don't actually get them.

Typically, to get means-tested free school meals, you need to be getting a specified benefit. These include Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit and others – see what benefits count. The exact criteria for free school meals varies slightly around the UK – see full info and how to apply in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

However, local authorities can set their own school uniform grant eligibility criteria on top, and some councils include additional requirements – for example, in some cases your child has to be in a specific year group or moving from primary to secondary school to qualify.

If you're not currently getting any benefits, try our 10-minute benefits check to ensure you're not missing out on vital support.

List of councils offering school uniform grants

All local authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales offer a school uniform grant – but in England, it's a postcode lottery. To help, we've combed through the websites of all English councils responsible for education services – over 150 of them – and listed the ones offering grants below.

Council not listed above? Ask if it has other help available

Under the Household Support Fund, councils in England can access funding to help those most in need with the cost of daily essentials, including school clothing in some cases.

Each council can choose how to distribute the money, so eligibility criteria and what you can get varies – for example, some have given extra funding to schools to hand out, while others provide direct help to vulnerable households in the form of supermarket vouchers.

The scheme was set to end this month, but the Government has announced that it'll be extended until April 2025. It's worth contacting your council to find out what it offer as soon as you can, as funding could run out at any time. If you can't access financial support under the Household Support Fund, your council may have other schemes in place that could help you.

Other ways to cut the cost of school uniform

If you can't get support from your council, here are some other ways you can keep uniform costs down:

• Ask your school for help. Some schools offer vouchers or other financial assistance to help you cover the cost of uniforms. If they don't have a scheme like this in place, they may be able to point you in the direction of a local charity or community group that can assist you.

• Look for supermarket sales and deals. Various supermarkets offer generic uniform from as little as £5 per full set – these are plain-coloured clothes with no unique school badges. This is excellent value if your child's school allows generic uniforms.

  Sales and discounts tend to come around early in the summer holidays, so it's better to shop sooner rather than later. For the latest offers, see our Cheap school uniform deals round-up.

  Bonus tip: If you do need items with a logo, sometimes it's cheaper to buy a generic sweatshirt and iron on a badge yourself – this can work out cheaper than the official sweatshirts. Earlier this year, the Government announced plans to limit the number of branded uniform items schools in England can require as part of the new Children's Wellbeing Bill – but it's unclear when this will take force.

• Bag a second-hand uniform. Many schools run second-hand uniform schemes which allow you to pick up school clothing items at a fraction of the retail cost. Facebook Marketplace and eBay can also be a treasure trove – we've previously found some logo sweatshirts, an official tie, generic trousers and more for free, as well as hundreds of other items for about £2 to £5.

• Check local Facebook groups and community programmes. There may be a 'school uniform bank' or pop-up shop in your area offering items at low or no cost, or a swap meet where you can exchange items with other parents and carers.

For more tips, see our full School uniform MoneySaving guide.