A new survey has highlighted the hidden costs encountered when sending children back to school.
The survey of 1,200 parents or guardians identifies school contributions, digital devices and PE kits as causes of significant additional back to school expenditure.
The survey, carried out for the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, found 84% of parents are requested to pay financial contributions to their children’s school at an average cost of €167.
It said parents spend an average of €169 on uniforms and €99 on specific PE items.
The survey noted that one in four parents said their child is required to purchase a laptop or tablet for their schoolwork, the average price of such devices being €500 or €562 for second level students.
Of those buying such devices, one third have to use credit facilities in order to make the purchases.
The survey shows a significant minority of parents only found out about the need to contribute fees or devices after their child had started school.
The CCPC is advising parents not to take on debt, to find out about costs in advance and to bear in mind that school requests for additional contributions are voluntary.
The commission is also advising schools to be upfront and transparent about voluntary contributions and to adopt generic uniform options rather than restricting parents to going to a single supplier which increases cost and limits options.
CCPC commissioned the Ipsos B&A to survey and research was conducted using online panels between 3 and 15 May.
