Case Studies and Feedback from our Referrers

There is a common misconception in our society that most families who require financial support are in receipt of state benefits. There is also an assumption that the families on benefits are entitled to the school clothing grant and should therefore not require any additional help from other agencies.

While it is true that West Lothian Council distribute a generous school clothing grant to some families, the grant is only available to families in receipt of a qualifying benefit and who earn less than £16,000 total household income.

In our experience, there are many more families who do not qualify for the grant, but still struggle to make ends meet, including working families and those on low incomes.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the number of working parents living in poverty is continuing to increase. The latest statistics show that “in-work poverty” ( families where at least one adult works) accounts for 50% of families classified as living in poverty.

Young mum with a number of children who is living in B&B accommodation due to fleeing domestic abuse. Every aspect of her life and the lives of her children had been controlled for many years. This included her not being allowed to buy items herself for the children. She was finding everything overwhelming when she initially fled, struggling with the reality of everyday things and not understanding the void she was feeling without the control of her abuser. She felt lost and confused about what to buy and from where, had very limited funds and felt out of her depth.

The School Bank took away a huge amount of pressure and stress from her, providing the children with high quality items of clothing, ensuring that jackets and footwear were appropriate and also considered the age of the children, ranging from young to teenage. It allowed the children to feel confident that they had everything they needed and were not going to stand out at school or be singled out by peers. It allowed mum the time to focus on her own recovery from the abuse and work on rebuilding and strengthening the relationships with her children.

A young man had physical/medical issues with his ankles and it was recommended that he use supportive waking boots to ease pressure on his ankles. The young man was a little self conscious of this and mum could not afford to buy him branded boots. The School Bank sourced and provided brand new branded walking boots, which absolutely blew the family away and actually left a teenager who had been embarrassed about wearing this type of footwear excited to try them on and wear them to school.
The little extras that The School Bank provides within the school bag was such a thoughtful touch and made the young man feel cared about.

It took a huge pressure, financially and also from worrying about the emotional and physical health of the young man, from the family.

A mum with 2 teenagers, recently left abusive relationship with children’s dad after many years of domestic abuse, living in temporary accommodation. Had no bank account of her own and no access to funds. Teenagers were feeling embarrassed by 2nd or 3rd hand clothes which were sourced but were too small and/or faded. This compounded their feelings of confusion and shame surrounding the current domestic situation.

School Bank provided brand new, designer branded items including trainers, jackets and school bags. The impact this had on the 2 teenagers was immeasurable and totally alleviated the feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment that they had in relation to their school uniforms/belongings.