Summer holidays are winding down, which means parents across the country will be starting the scramble to get everything organised for a new school year. Of course, this often means making many purchases at once, making this time of year one of the most financially stressful for some parents.
Jen Hogan, a parenting columnist and mum-of-seven, joined Philip Boucher-Hayes on Today with Claire Byrne to discuss the cost of pupils going back to school.
Philip himself is only halfway through his shopping list as he prepares to send one of his kids off to secondary school for the first time, a list he fears "might top out at €1,000".
As Jen says, though, it's a conversation we've been having year after year. "Every year we're highlighting how expensive it is, how unrealistic it is, parents are getting into debt, they're taking loans. They seem to be going up instead of going away."
One of the major expenses for parents is buying the crested school jumper, blazer or jacket. Is this a justifiable expense? "I know some schools like to have the crest there, they like the ownership of their crest", Jen says.
"But I don't think we need crested jumpers. If it's something that they really want to do, we could get one that could be purchased and sewn onto a generic jumper, which would make uniforms so much more affordable for parents."
Instead, parents have to go to specific shops to buy the jumpers, which can cost up to €50 each. It's also not environmentally sustainable, as Philip points out, but that's not the most obvious offence when it comes to being green.
Students go through rakes of books and copybooks a year. "The cost of books is still the biggest outlay for most parents", Jen says, with new editions costing more and needing to be used.
Although some schools are switching to iPads, which is its own expense, some parents are still being asked to buy the books, Jen says.
"So we have double or triple waste here because you may have those books from an older child, but they can't be used because you've taken the code from the original book, put it onto the iPad, you've got to go buy the hardcopy all over again."
As to why there's resistance to these changes, Jen is as baffled as any other parent. "It certainly isn't parents who are in any way supportive of this. There are ways around it but it's just not happening."
"You have people saying they have no treats all year, no holidays, just to try to meet the costs of going back to school, which go well beyond the books. The likes of the after school activities that we perhaps think of as optional, but we can't really leave your child out of certain things."
It's been said, Philip mentions, that the first year of secondary school is the most expensive – is this true? "I'll have a first year going in this year and he will cost me the most", Jen says. Sports gear, new books, uniform and an iPad are just some of the expenses her family will need to make.
"But even going down through the primary school children, I don't see my own personal costs getting any less. Even [with] the book rentals... parents will say they have these extras that keep coming up, the photocopying, the contribution to arts and crafts materials."
One of the most efficient ways to save money is calling other parents and buying uniforms secondhand, Jen says. She tells Philip that she's often had parents contact her and offer their kids' spare uniforms, which she's only too happy to take. "It's a way to cut the cost and kids lose things constantly."
As for changes in the school year ahead, Jen says that many parents are looking for a time when mask wearing will be rolled back for their children, and whether a "vaccine bonus" will be implemented.
"There are worries about the disruption to education. The fear the schools will close again is real, it's still there. It's like the Leaving Cert dream for parents!"
Listen back to the full interview above or by clicking here.
