SCHOOL UNIFORM: 35,000 free items land in 26 Swansea and Bridgend schools

The September uniform bill has just got lighter for thousands of families: around 35,000 items of school uniform have landed in 26 schools across Swansea and Bridgend, ready to reach the children who need them.

Faith in Families, the Swansea charity, delivered the kit through its Cwtch Mawr Multibank Cymru, roughly 2,509 backpack-led uniform allocations sorted, boxed and driven out to 20 schools in Swansea and six in Bridgend.

The support runs through the school rather than an application queue: schools opted in, with uniform allocated according to school size and individual requirements wherever possible.

The numbers underneath are substantial. The charity says the full procurement ran to 2,903 uniform packs, around 41,000 individual garments once the multipacks of shirts, socks, underwear and tights are counted, with roughly 35,000 items now distributed.

It cost £160,065, met through the Welsh Government’s essential-items funding, and the charity puts the equivalent high-street value at around £205,000.

The idea started at the referrals desk

The programme began when Phil Evans, referrals coordinator at the Multibank, was asked how it could do more for families ahead of the new school year, and identified uniform as the clear gap.

Jon Waite, the Multibank’s facility and development manager, then led the sourcing, working with Welsh schoolwear supplier Bergoni on the pack model, pricing, and quality and sizing checks.

“For many families, the start of a new school year brings excitement, but it also brings another long list of costs that simply cannot be avoided,” he said. “School uniform should never become another pressure that leaves parents having to choose what they can and cannot afford.”

“Getting around 35,000 uniform items into 26 schools means practical support is now available to families through people they already know and trust, protecting dignity and removing some of the pressure of getting children ready to learn.”

The charity thanked Gail Devine at Bridgend voluntary sector body BAVO for helping it reach schools across that county quickly, along with the team at Bergoni and the participating schools.

The Multibank redistributes new surplus goods from businesses to families through trusted frontline organisations, and has given out almost 1.5 million items across the Swansea Bay area.

The scheme began pushing beyond Swansea in January with a Neath Port Talbot pilot, and its reach into Bridgend now takes in six of the county’s schools.

Its work has drawn national attention too, bringing the Governor of the Bank of England to the warehouse in February to hear how rising costs hit children first.

Is your child’s school on the list?

In Swansea, uniform went to:

• Cadle Primary School
• Trallwn Primary School
• Tre Uchaf Primary School
• Gowerton School
• Clydach Primary School
• Bishopston Comprehensive School
• Brynmill Primary School
• Clase Primary School
• St Joseph’s Cathedral Primary School
• Morriston Primary School
• Sea View Community Primary School
• Portmead Primary School
• Birchgrove Primary School
• St Illtyd’s Catholic Primary School
• Christchurch Primary School
• Talycopa Primary School
• Llanrhidian Primary School
• Bishop Vaughan School
• St Thomas Community Primary School
• Ysgol Gymraeg Y Cwm

And in Bridgend:

• Ffaldau Primary School
• Blaengarw Primary School
• Brynteg Comprehensive School
• Betws Primary School
• St Mary’s CP School
• Cwmfelin Primary School

For families, the practical upshot is simple: if your child’s school is on the list, the uniform is already there, and the school is the place to ask.