Wicklow Parents Braced For Heavy School Return Costs, Survey Finds

More than half of parents are worried about meeting the costs associated with ' back to school '

For families across County Wicklow, from Bray and Greystones to Wicklow Town and Arklow, the findings of a new national survey will sound painfully familiar.

Barnardos has today published its annual Back to School Survey for 2026, and the picture it paints is one of households already stretched by the cost of living now facing a fresh wave of bills as the new school year approaches. Uniforms, digital devices and general "back to school" costs are landing on families all at once, often before the summer's other expenses — camps, childcare, holidays — have even been paid off.

The headline numbers

The charity surveyed 704 parents nationwide between 7 and 31 July, covering costs for 455 primary and 249 secondary school pupils. Among the key findings:

• More than half of all parents said they are worried about meeting back-to-school costs, with almost one in five describing themselves as "very concerned."

• Around a quarter of secondary school parents and one in five primary school parents said they have had to dip into savings to cover the costs. Roughly one in ten to one in seven have had to borrow — either taking out a loan or turning to family and friends.

• Uniforms remain a sore point: 70% of parents said they were somewhat or very worried about uniform costs, yet fewer than a third of primary schools and under one in ten secondary schools offer an affordable uniform option. Nine in ten parents believe their child's school should provide one.

• Digital devices are hitting secondary families hardest, with 57% of parents having to pay for one, at an average cost of €447. Some parents reported being asked to pay far more for compulsory tablets, with no option to shop around or use a device the family already owns.

For a commuter county like Wicklow, where many households already carry higher costs tied to transport, childcare and housing, an unplanned few hundred euro on a school-mandated tablet or a crested tracksuit can be the expense that tips a tight month into a genuinely difficult one.

The benefits cliff

One theme that emerges strongly from the survey — and one that will resonate with plenty of commuter-belt families straddling the income thresholds — is the frustration of parents who earn just slightly too much to qualify for state support, despite feeling every bit of the financial squeeze.

The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, administered by the Department of Social Protection, currently pays €160 for each eligible child aged 2–11 and €285 for each eligible child aged 12–22, with more than 100,000 families nationwide receiving support this year. But as one primary school parent surveyed by Barnardos put it, the current system creates a "benefits cliff" rather than a gradual taper — meaning families who earn only a few euro over the limit lose out on support entirely, even as their actual costs are no different to those just below the line.

What Barnardos is calling for

The charity's National Policy Manager, Stephen Moffatt, said Barnardos has been campaigning to reduce back-to-school costs for over two decades, and while there has been real progress, gaps remain — particularly around digital devices for secondary parents and uniform costs, including increasingly common branded tracksuits, for primary parents.

Barnardos is calling on Government to:

1. Review the use of digital devices in schools and reduce costs for low-income families

2. Make affordable uniform options mandatory in every school

3. Expand eligibility for the Back to School Allowance

4. Introduce a voluntary contributions code of practice

A local read on a national problem

None of this will be news to parents doing the sums around Wicklow kitchen tables this month. With two second-level schools' worth of uniforms, a device list, and the general costs of September landing in the same few weeks, the county's parents — like those across the country — are being asked to find money that, for many, simply isn't there.

Barnardos says its survey findings have driven real change over the past twenty years, and the charity hopes this year's report will keep the pressure on Government to finish the job it says has already begun: turning "free education" into something that actually is.

Source: Barnardos Back to School Survey 2026, released 5 August 2026.

Additional context on the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance from the Department of Social Protection / Citizens Information.