Mum of seven urges parents to sign petition to make school uniform tax-free

Jenny Leonard, mum of seven from Manchester has signed our petition to make school uniform tax-free and encourages other mums to help get behind the campaign.

Jenny, who is a blogger over at The Brick Castle,  believes the petition is a step forward in making good quality uniforms affordable to everyone. She says that if we have to buy cheap uniforms, parents will become stuck in a cycle of buying cheap replacements all year round, wasting more money. 

Jenny with her youngest and eldest sons

  

Jenny said: “I've been a parent of school aged children for the last 15 years, and I have 14 years left before my youngest leaves school. Over this time I've learnt the hard way that buying cheaper uniform rarely saves money in the long run. Good quality uniform can last for two to three years, but the outlay can be incredibly expensive, especially when you have several children to buy for.”

School uniform is important, and has a proven impact on your child’s well-being at school. Therefore, we have launched an e-petition because we want to make school uniform less of a worry to hardworking families like Jenny’s

The petition is in support of The Government making uniforms tax-free by introducing a salary sacrifice scheme where parents can exchange a small part of their monthly salary for school uniform vouchers.  This means that parents will be able to budget effectively when it’s ‘back to school’ time. 

We already have over 1,000 signatures, but we need more to send this all the way to the Prime Minister!

Please support the campaign by signing the petition here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65790

How to keep your children's uniform smart and clean

Washing your child’s uniform a few times a week, or for the unlucky -everyday, isn’t any parent’s favourite responsibility, particularly if they’ve been rolling around in the grass all lunch time. But, unfortunately it is something that has to be done, so here are a few tips on how to keep your child’s uniform looking and feeling like new!

First things first, as with any of item of clothing, check the labels! This is because, easily enough, washing at the wrong temperature and setting or using the wrong detergent can damage the uniform.

So, whether you are trying to clean the yoghurt off of their jumper or the paint off their trousers, there are a few ways to ensure your child’s uniform will be clean every day: 

·         Empty all the pockets; make sure there are no tissues or wrappers that could damage the uniform.

·         Close buttons and zips so you do not lose any, this is also to prevent snagging.

·         Turn clothes inside out to reduce wear and tear.

·         Separate light and dark colours to avoid colour runs such as turning your white shirts blue.

·         Do not over-fill the machine to ensure clothes are cleaned properly

·         Use the correct amount of detergent (there is usually a recommendation on the bottle).

·         Do not exceed the temperatures marked on your care label otherwise you will end up with a very tiny uniform.

·         If the school jumper is acrylic knitwear, do not use fabric softeners, because this will damage the condition of the clothing.

Finally, when drying and ironing the uniform, make sure you follow the labels again properly, as sometimes tumble drying can shrink the uniform, whilst some items cannot be ironed, so make sure you turn the uniform inside out and use a suitable heat setting.

Overall, the key to a pristine uniform is not to forget to check the labels! If you are unsure you can find out what commonly used symbols mean at www.care-labelling.co.uk.

Don’t forget to sign our petition to make school uniforms more affordable! We are campaigning for a salary sacrifice voucher scheme to be put in position for school uniforms. This is very similar to the childcare voucher scheme presently in place, meaning it is tax exempt and therefore, making uniforms more affordable. Please help us to make this possible, by signing our petition here- http://tinyurl.com/schoolwear

Attention parents! We need your help to make school uniform tax-free

Looking after your children and making sure they’re happy and comfortable is something at the top of every parent’s list. Therefore we have launched a government e-petition with this in mind and need parents like you to get involved to help us reach our goal.

The petition aims to make good quality school uniform more affordable and easier to budget for.  Here at the Schoolwear Association we believe that it’s really important for children to have school specific or ‘badged’ uniform, as this can lead to an improvement in behaviour and gives children a sense of belonging to their school. Your children can spend up to 10 hours a day wearing their school uniform, so it should be well fitted, comfortable and good quality.

The ultimate goal of this e-petition is to get the government to introduce a vouchers scheme, similar to the already successful childcare vouchers scheme. This would mean that parents would receive a small part of their salary in vouchers, which would be tax exempt. They could then spend these vouchers at all participating retailers. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the e-petition and would like to sign it to show your support for a better future for your children, please click on the following link:  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65790

Thank you for your support!