• Published

A charity has been awarded £100,000 to help Surrey families experiencing financial hardship buy back to school essentials, including uniforms items, for the upcoming year.

While a new law in September means that parents in England will have to buy fewer branded items of school uniform, costs remain high.

Surrey County Council (SCC) has given charity Stripey Stork the money to expand its School Days scheme which helps families access essential school items.

Nicola Dawes, chief executive at Stripey Stork, said families in need would "simply go without essential school items or be forced into debt" without this support.

The funding comes from the £7.1m Crisis and Resilience Fund, a government-run scheme which provides local authorities with funding to help low-income households on a multi-year basis.

Last year, Stripey Stork supported 7,503 Surrey children from 4,116 families.

This latest funding will enable the charity to support around 8,500 children over the next 12 months.

Councillor Mark Nuti, SCC cabinet member for health and communities, said this money will help Stripey Stork to "reach even more families across Surrey with practical support at a time when it is needed most".

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