The rising cost of living puts serious pressure on UK families around the school year, from uniforms and coats to breakfast and outdoor kit. Several established UK charities and government backed schemes exist to help, but many families don't know about them. This post covers the main initiatives your PTA can support or share, including Coats4Kids, The Outdoor Guide Foundation, Magic Breakfast, Living Paintings, local uniform banks, and the DfE period products scheme. Awareness alone can make a big difference to the families in your school community.

Table of contents

Why awareness matters as much as fundraising

UK charities and schemes worth knowing

How your PTA can help without adding pressure

A summary of the main schemes at a glance

FAQs

Why awareness matters as much as fundraising

With the new school year looming in September, the everyday costs of school life become extremely visible. Uniforms, shoes, PE kit, book bags, packed lunches, coats for the colder months, and plenty of spares for the items that vanish into thin air. It adds up, and for many UK families it adds up in ways that stretch already thin budgets.

The good news is that support does exist, both through national charities and government backed schemes. However, awareness is often the biggest barrier. Families who could benefit may not know what's out there, and PTAs and schools are in an ideal position to help. You don't need to run a huge fundraiser or reinvent your calendar. Sometimes sharing information on your school's WhatsApp group is enough to make a genuine difference.

We thought it would be useful to pull together a guide to some of the main UK initiatives you might want to promote, support with a collection, or simply have in your back pocket for when a family privately asks for help.

UK charities and schemes worth knowing

Here are some of the charities and schemes we've come across that are worth flagging to your school community. All operate nationally or have national reach, though some are stronger in certain regions.

Coats4Kids

Coats4Kids is a registered UK charity providing brand new winter coats to primary school children whose families can't afford one. Schools identify children in need, and the charity provides vouchers directly to parents so families can choose a coat that fits and suits their child. Every coat is new, and there are no visible charity labels, which matters when children are worried about being singled out.

The Outdoor Guide Foundation

The Waterproofs and Wellies project, run by The Outdoor Guide Foundation, donates kits of waterproof jackets, trousers, and welly boots to state primary schools across the UK. The challenge is clear: if a child hasn't got the right kit, they miss out on outdoor learning and playtime in wet weather. Schools can register directly on the foundation's website. This scheme is particularly well aligned with the wider case for getting children outside as part of the school day.

Magic Breakfast

Magic Breakfast provides free, nutritious breakfasts to schools with high levels of pupil premium eligibility, and now works as a partner in the government's national Free Breakfast Club programme for primary schools in England. If your school isn't currently signed up, it's worth checking whether the free national programme covers you. For secondary schools, Magic Breakfast continues to offer direct support outside the government scheme.

Living Paintings

Based in Kingsclere in Hampshire, Living Paintings is a national charity that runs a free postal library of tactile and audio books for blind and visually impaired children. Books arrive as raised, tactile images with an audio guide, so children can enjoy familiar titles like The Gruffalo, Elmer, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar alongside their sighted classmates. Membership is completely free, and books are posted out and returned at no cost. Genuinely a lovely one to know about to support  visually impaired children in your school community.

Local uniform banks

Uniform banks have grown quickly in the UK in recent years, often run by local charities, churches, and community groups. The Salvation Army and the Uniformed charity both work across the country, and countless county-level operations do the same. A good example is Little Stars Charity in Shropshire, whose Cool for School campaign supplies uniform, coats, and toiletries to families across the county through pop-up events, referrals, and self-referrals. Similar setups exist in most counties, so it’s always worth a search. 

The DfE period products scheme

All state maintained schools and 16 to 19 education organisations in England can order free period products for their pupils, funded by the Department for Education and delivered by phs. The scheme is designed so that no young person misses school because of their period. If your school isn't ordering, ask whether they're aware of the scheme, as uptake is far from universal.

How your PTA can help without adding pressure

Once you know what's out there, there are a few ways your PTA can support families without making anyone feel singled out. Here are some options:

• Share information about relevant charities and schemes through your regular parent newsletters and WhatsApp groups, so families know help exists before they need it
• Organise a discreet donation collection point at school events, especially for outgrown uniform, coats, and outdoor kit
• Consider whether a percentage of your fundraising this year could go to a national or local charity working with schools

The tone matters as much as the action. A no-judgement environment where families feel able to access help is often more useful than any single collection. Sharing information consistently through the year, rather than only in September, keeps the door open.

A summary of the main schemes at a glance

This list isn't exhaustive, and other local initiatives are often running county to county. Local Facebook groups, your school's family liaison worker, and other PTAs are all good sources for what's active nearby.

How IQ Cards fits in

Alongside sharing information about these charities, you might be thinking about how to raise funds through your own PTA activity to support families in your school. Our Christmas card project and other seasonal fundraisers are designed to be low effort for busy volunteers and give a solid return per family, so you can direct funds where they're needed. Some PTAs use their funds to underwrite hardship grants within school, build literacy support areas like reading nooks, or support a national charity. Talk to us about what would work for your school.

IQ Cards works with schools and PTAs across the UK on fundraisers that make it easy to support your school community. Get in touch to chat about how we can help.

FAQs

How can our PTA promote these charities without embarrassing families?

Share information through general channels like newsletters and WhatsApp groups, so it goes to everyone rather than being aimed at specific families. Frame it as useful to know about, not as a suggestion that anyone in particular needs help. Discreet contact points, such as the school office or a named PTA lead, give families a private route if they'd rather ask in confidence.

What if we want to fundraise but don’t have many volunteers?

Have a look at the fundraising projects that we run at IQ Cards. Our Christmas Card project gets impressive results with comparatively little work for your volunteers. That’s because we manage the process to keep things really simple. 

What's the best time of year to organise a school uniform donation collection?

July is a good moment because families are decluttering outgrown uniform before the summer holidays. A second collection point in early September catches items that were missed, and a third at Easter tops things up for summer PE kit. Working with a local uniform bank means the donations go where they're most useful.