The Schools Essentials Grant, provided by the charity GroceryAid, offers £150 per school-age child, capped at three children per household, to help cover the cost of school uniforms. This grant is specifically aimed at parents working in the grocery industry, including those employed in supermarkets, wholesalers, manufacturers, suppliers, convenience stores, independent grocers, petrol forecourt stores or service providers to the grocery industry.
Applications for the grant will open on Tuesday and to be eligible, parents must have been employed by a grocery employer for at least six months. Eligibility also requires that applicants are in receipt of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit for children aged between four and 18, and have household savings or balances of less than £4,000.However, anyone who has received a GroceryAid grant since April 2024 is not eligible.
The website notes that the most common reason applicants get rejected is not uploading all of the correct information and supporting documents, urging those thinking of applying to have their documents ready. This includes a current payslip clearly showing the parent's name, employer and NI as well as a Universal Credit statement showing the payment amount and full breakdown of their benefits. For those receiving Child Tax Credits they will need to show their Child Tax Credit entry or statement from Spring 2024.
For those that aren't eligible for the School Essentials Grant, a number of local councils offer school uniform grants which readers can find out more about on their website. Eligibility and the amount parents receive differs greatly between each area with places like Wandsworth offering automatic £160 vouchers while areas like Sandwell have online applications for the £25 grant while others don't offer any grants.