Nearly 50% of parents skip essentials to cover school costs

Nearly half of all parents cut back on daily household essentials to cover school costs.

Barnardos school costs survey for 2017 discovered 45% of parents had to forgo paying bills as well as cut back on daily essentials because of the impact of school costs.

The average cost for getting a child ready for senior infants in 2017 is €355, which includes clothing, footwear, books, stationery, classroom resources and also taking a voluntary contribution into account.