Help Them Walk Tall This Term
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Because Every Child Deserves a Fair Start.
Raised of £30,000 target
Adam dreads the first day of term - not because he doesn’t like school, but because he knows how it will begin.
Torn trainers, a blazer two sizes too small and whispers and stares that cut deeper than detention. He’ll walk - not with pride, but with the fear that everyone sees what he’s trying so hard to hide: poverty, grief, and a mother doing her best alone.
Adam’s father is in prison - serving a sentence behind bars. But for Adam, it’s a hidden sentence, served every single day.
No child should feel ashamed to walk through the school gates.
£50 can give a child dignity. £380 can clothe them in confidence.
Let’s Make School a Place of Hope Again
For girls like Sara, school should be exciting. She’s 12 and full of potential. But instead of packing a new bag, she worries how she will even go.
Her family fled war, only to face hardship in the UK. Her widowed mother receives just £8 a week per child. It’s barely enough for food - let alone a school uniform, or shoes that fit.
For Sara, there is no bag. No uniform. No father to walk her to the school gates.
She’s already been through trauma, and upheaval. Now, poverty stands in the way of her education too.
Sara deserves more than survival - she deserves dignity.
The Hidden Faces of Poverty
Adam and Sara are not alone.
Every September, thousands of children in the UK go back to school without the basics:
The upheaval of displacement. The grief of losing a parent to prison. The silent struggles of a child in a single-parent home.
These are the invisible burdens that the children Embrace support will carry on their first day of school.
Instead of excitement, back to school means exclusion. Children are sent home for the wrong uniform. They’re bullied, ashamed, and anxious. Some miss school entirely. For many, school becomes a place of shame instead of hope.
But you can change that.
One uniform. One school bag. One gesture from you could rewrite their story.
Let No Child Be Left Behind This Term
Half a million children in the UK are paying the price of poverty every day through no fault of their own. That’s 3 in 10 children - or 9 in the average classroom - who are forced to go without the basics every child deserves, spending their childhoods feeling anxious, ashamed, isolated.
Back to school costs are soaring. The latest research shows on average parents will spend:
For families already living below the poverty line, school becomes a financial crisis. These costs are devastating and place immense pressure on those already struggling to manage high energy bills and inflation. As a result, they have to cut back on the essentials like food and electricity for children missing out on learning.
The cost of going back to school isn’t just a financial burden - it can deeply affect a child’s sense of belonging.
School uniforms are meant to create equality and ease social pressure. But when families can’t afford them, or must sacrifice other essentials to provide them, it can have the opposite effect—intensifying feelings of shame, anxiety, and exclusion. Too many children have faced isolation, bullying and even been sent home for uniforms they couldn’t afford or silenced by the shame of poverty.
Pack their Bags with Dignity
At Embrace, we understand the difficulties that going back to school can bring. That’s why we’re helping vulnerable families across the UK to reduce the financial pressure of going back to school. These materials should not be a luxury. In fact, they're a necessity if we want children to thrive.
The new school year starts in just weeks. We need your help now.
Every donation to our Back to School Campaign will go directly toward helping children like Sara and Adam feel prepared for school and ready to learn.
Your support can ensure every child has what they deserve:
You're giving more than clothes and shoes - you're giving dignity, inclusion, and hope.
One Parent, One Income, No Way Out.
In many Embrace households, a single mother bears the weight of two parents. They are widows, wives of prisoners, or mothers fleeing abuse, with no extended family, no support, and no rest.
For a single mother in desperate circumstances - already battling debt, struggling to feed her children and heat her home - a school uniform becomes a source of anxiety - not pride.
In their homes, August is not a month of excitement but of dread and panic. Some families spend up to two-thirds of their monthly income just to get one child school-ready. They face painful choices every term: food or school shoes? Gas or a uniform? Rent or revision guides? Do they borrow money or face the shame of being unprepared and excluded?
These are not luxuries - they’re essentials. But when a mother has lost her husband to war, prison, or death, there’s no extra left for school prep.
That’s why your support matters now more than ever.
You can lift the weight off a single mother’s shoulders. Help them breathe easier this September.
In the face of these impossible decisions, your gift becomes more than clothing - it becomes relief, dignity, and potential.
"I am a single mother of three children, all of whom have been affected by a traumatic experience of domestic abuse that has also severely impacted me physically and psychologically. Due to my current health condition, I am unable to work and my income is extremely limited. My application for PIP is still under review. I am facing serious financial hardship and struggling to meet essential needs, including school-related costs such as uniforms, stationery, and transport. Receiving a school costs grant would significantly ease the burden and help ensure that my children can attend school with dignity and without feeling excluded. This support would make a meaningful difference to our daily lives and help us get through a very difficult time."
DON’T LET POVERTY BE PART OF THEIR UNIFORM
HELP A CHILD WALK TALL THIS TERM
Clothe With
Confidence
Primary Child Uniform - £290
Secondary Child Uniform - £420
New Term. New Uniform. New Hope. A new uniform and a smart pair of shoes can give children like Sara and Adam the confidence to walk tall among their peers. It can help them feel proud, not pitied. It can mean the difference between being excluded and feeling seen. You can level the playing field - one uniform at a time. Don’t Let Poverty Be Part of Their School Uniform. Clothe them with confidence, dignity and hope.
Will you help children walk tall this term?
“I am unable to afford the school uniforms, bags and trainers for the kids, it’s too costly to buy for all three children. This amount will help me to buy all the necessary uniforms, bags and shoes and any stationery they will need and allow the children to feel secure and happy that they are not left out whilst all the other children are able to dress well.”
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Equip Them
For Tomorrow
Essential Stationery – £50
School should be a launchpad, not a battleground. But for children like Adam, who’ve already faced more than many adults ever will, it can feel like a punishment.
It should be a place where children feel hopeful. But when a child can’t bring the books, bags or materials they need, it becomes a place of constant stress.
Research shows that students without adequate school supplies fall behind fast - not because they’re capable or intelligent, but because they aren’t equipped. For refugee children like Sara, and children of prisoners like Adam, that gap grows every year.
Children from lower income families are 50% less likely to do as well at school as their classmates.
Adam’s journey to school shouldn’t start in shame. He shouldn’t have to shrink into his seat, worried someone will notice what he lacks. He deserves the same pride, the same confidence, the same chance to thrive as every other child in his class.
But that only happens if someone like you chooses to act.
“…Be merciful with the orphan…. This will soften your heart, and enable you to get what you need.”* (at-Tabarani)
Help a child from a refugee, prisoner, or single-parent household start school equipped, confident, and full of hope.
Give more than bags and books - give belonging. Give them the tools to thrive, not just survive.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Parents have applied to Embrace on behalf of over 200 children who require assistance with school costs by September.
These are from asylum seeker/refugee households, children who have a parent in prison, and single mother households (widows, divorcees, survivors of abuse).
The amount we will give each child, will depend on their bespoke needs as evidenced and submitted by their parents to Embrace, that fall within the average UK ranges.
The amount of the grants will be subject to funds raised.
In the event our target is not reached, we will try to ensure that each child who applies receives a grant to assist with the costs even if we are unable to provide the full amount requested.
Grants will be provided in the form of vouchers which parents can use at supermarkets, clothing stores and stationery outlets to purchase uniforms, shoes, bags, stationery and school equipment.
One of the main reasons is that many schools require branded items—like PE kits with logos or initials—which often can only be purchased from official suppliers or school-specific shops. This drives up the price and limits families from choosing more affordable options, such as second-hand uniforms or supermarket multi-buy deals.
Uniforms are just the start. Families also need to budget for essential items like stationery, school shoes, PE trainers, lunchboxes, book bags, and more. For many, these added costs mean planning months in advance—or turning to charities for help.
Back-to-school expenses don’t stop in September, either. Weekly travel costs, packed lunches, calculators, and other day-to-day school needs can add up quickly.
Research from Loughborough University shows that families with children in secondary school face around £39 per week in extra costs, amounting to an average of £1,755.97 per year per child.
Our research shows that households with children are especially vulnerable during the cost-of-living crisis. Whether parents are in work or relying on benefits, many struggle to afford the basics—like rent, energy bills, and food.
Wages and social security payments often fall short of what families truly need, no matter how carefully they budget. And it's children who feel the consequences.
Government policies like the Two-Child Limit and the Benefit Cap are deepening this crisis. Between 2013 and 2023, child poverty increased by 700,000—with these policies playing a major role.
Parents face multiple barriers to increasing their income, particularly if they are single, disabled, or caring for a child with disabilities. On top of that, racial inequalities persist: children from Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Black African backgrounds are significantly more likely to grow up in poverty.
Families of prisoners face additional costs of supporting and visiting a loved one in prison. They very often lose the main breadwinner. Bank accounts can be closed, assets frozen, and employment prospects bleak following the detention of a loved one.
Asylum seekers live on as little as £8.86 a week, with others receiving £49 a week per person. They are not entitled to apply or receive benefits and not allowed to work. This pushes them into destitution.
Poverty impacts every part of a child’s life—from their ability to learn to their mental wellbeing.
Children growing up in hardship may struggle to concentrate at school due to hunger or tiredness. They may fall behind academically and miss out on opportunities like school trips or extracurricular activities.
Emotionally, many feel anxious, excluded, or ashamed. They may worry about their parents’ struggles, feel embarrassed about their clothes or supplies, and find it hard to fully take part in school life.
Overcrowded housing, food insecurity, and a lack of safe, stable accommodation only add to the pressure. Some children avoid inviting friends over or isolate themselves to hide their situation.
