Raised of £144,000 target
357
Families
783
Children
£144,000
Needed Before Sept.
From Gaza to Grimsby, starting anew,
Young Ayah nurses trauma no child should live through.
The school year begins, but she's filled with dread,
She sits silent in class, her nightmares unsaid.
For Fatima, struggling to raise her children alone,
Forced to ignore how much they have grown.
New uniforms, school shoes and stationery now due,
Her children brace, for the taunts are nothing new.
With Baba in prison for the second long year,
Young Ahmad survives, though his future’s unclear.
As bailiffs knock, fridge bare, bills pile high,
September brings fresh fears when hope has run dry.
Far from home in Yemen, I stand on my own,
A child seeking asylum, afraid and alone.
Ummi lies awake each night, as September draws near,
Worrying how we'll afford another school year.
Every child deserves to walk through those gates,
With confidence, belonging, and joy on their face.
Pack their bags with dignity, put hope in their hearts,
So every family can greet September with a fresh start.
DON’T LET POVERTY
BE PART OF THEIR UNIFORM
HELP A CHILD
WALK TALL THIS TERM
Clothe With
Confidence
Primary Child Uniform - £345
Secondary Child Uniform - £450
A uniform is far more than clothing.
It protects a child's dignity.
It removes one more barrier to learning.
A new uniform and a smart pair of shoes can give children like Ayah and Ahmad the confidence to walk into school feeling like everyone else. You can level the playing field - one uniform at a time.
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.”
"The school grant will help my children not to feel isolated from their peers by their difference in uniform or essential equipment. It will also give them the confidence to return back to school in September without worrying about what others will think, or the stress of the impact of financially providing upon their mother."
Equip Them
For Tomorrow
Essential Stationery
School should be a place where children grow in confidence, curiosity and hope.
But when a child arrives without the books, stationery or equipment they need, learning quickly becomes another source of anxiety.
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 Ayah, and children of prisoners like Ahmad, that gap grows every year.
Children from lower-income households are 50% less likely to achieve the same educational outcomes as their peers because poverty creates barriers far beyond the classroom.
Help children like Ayah and Ahmad begin the school year equipped, confident and full of hope.
“…Be merciful with the orphan…. This will soften your heart, and enable you to get what you need.”* (at-Tabarani)
Give more than bags and books - give belonging. Give them the tools to thrive, not just survive.
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For most families, September is a time of excitement.
New teachers. New friends. New opportunities.
But for the children Embrace supports, the new school year approaches with anxiety instead.
With new uniforms, stationery, and supplies to pay for, many in our community dread what being back in the classroom means.
From refugee children to teens from struggling single parent households, each carries a different burden.
A refugee child trying to rebuild life after war surviving on £9 a week. A teenager whose father is in prison. A child raised by a widowed or single mother forced to choose between paying the rent and buying school shoes.
But every child deserves the same opportunity: to walk through the school gates feeling prepared, included and proud.
For many vulnerable families, the cost of uniforms, school shoes, stationery and other essentials places that opportunity out of reach.
That's where your kindness can make all the difference.
No child should feel ashamed to walk through the school gates.
£65 could help equip a child with essential school supplies.
£400 could help provide everything a child needs to begin the school year with confidence.
Meet Ayah
School should be a place where children discover who they are - not where they're reminded of everything they've lost.
Girls like Ayah have barely adjusted to life in the UK. She fled Gaza after experiencing trauma no child should ever have to endure.
Now, on top of processing the horrors she left behind, she faces another daunting beginning: a new school, in a new area, in a new language.
Now, poverty stands in the way of her education too.
Her widowed mother receives just £9.97 per child each week.
After paying for food, almost nothing remains.
For Ayah, there is no money for a bag. No uniform. No father to walk her to the school gates.
Children like Ayah have already survived war and displacement.
They shouldn't have to face exclusion simply because their family cannot afford the basics.
But you can change that.
One uniform. One school bag. One gesture from you could rewrite their story.
Every child supported by Embrace
faces different circumstances.
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.
Different journeys. Different hardships.
The same hope: to begin the school year feeling like they belong.
Instead, many children worry about something no child should have to think about.
Will I have the right uniform?
Will people notice my shoes?
Will I be bullied?
Will I be sent home?
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.
One school bag. One uniform.
One act of kindness from you could completely change how a child begins September.
Let's Make School a Place of Hope Again
Back-to-school costs are soaring.
Recent research shows parents now spend, on average:
Those figures include uniforms, school shoes, PE kit, stationery and other essential items.
For many families, these costs are challenging.
For the families Embrace supports, they are devastating.
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.
September should be a month of possibility.
Instead, it becomes another financial crisis.
But 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.
Let No Child Be Left Behind This Term
At Embrace, we believe no child should be left behind because of poverty. 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 application is carefully assessed to ensure support reaches families experiencing genuine financial hardship.
Your donation could help provide:
You're giving far more than clothes and school supplies - you're giving dignity, inclusion, and hope.
You're giving a child the chance to walk into school with their head held high.
Last year, thanks to your generous support, we were able to distribute £36,870 in Back to School support to 78 families and 205 children.
93.5% of parents said the support significantly eased the financial pressure on their family.
82.6% said it significantly helped prevent them from falling into debt.
91.3% said it significantly reduced their stress and anxiety as parents.
89.1% said it significantly improved their children's quality of life.
87% said it significantly increased their child's confidence.
91.3% said it significantly reduced their child's anxiety about returning to school.
91.3% gave Embrace the highest possible rating for communication and responsiveness.
For many Embrace families, August is not a month of excitement.
It's a month of dread and panic.
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.
They are widows, wives of prisoners, or mothers fleeing abuse – bearing the weight of two parents, with no extended family, no support, and no rest.
For mothers like Fatima, every decision feels impossible.
Food or school shoes?
Heating or a uniform?
Rent or revision guides?
Do they borrow money or face the shame of being unprepared and excluded?
These are not luxury items - they’re the essentials every child needs simply to take part. 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.
Your generosity can lift the burden from a single mother’s shoulders, already carrying more than enough.
Help them breathe easier this September.
Frequently Asked Questions
Over 357 families have applied to Embrace, for their 783 children who require assistance with school costs by September. These include children seeking asylum or granted refugee status, those 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 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 £9.97 a week, with others surviving on £7 a day, 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.
