Survey finds schools costs continue to rise – now up to €1,500 per child

Back-to-school costs continue to soar, according to a new survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions.

Parents are shelling out thousands of euro to send children to school, with costs continuing to rise.

The cost per primary school child is now €1,200 and it is almost €1,500 for those at second level, according to a survey by the Irish League of Credit Union (ILCU), which said 63% of families found these costs “a financial burden”.

Families also reported financial pressures linked to digital home-schooling and feeding children more frequently this year.

Almost one-quarter of parents who responded incur debts of between €200 and €500 due to school costs.

The ILCU survey found: “The cost of sending a child to primary school this coming year is just shy of €1,200 at €1,186, up €63 on last year, while parents of secondary school children can expect to pay an average of €1,491, up from €1,467 last year.” 

ILCU head of communications, Paul Bailey said they have seen “a steady increase” over the six years the survey has run.

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“For parents with more than one school-going child, these costs can place huge financial pressure on a family,” he said.

Impact of pandemic

Meanwhile, families continue to struggle with the impact of the pandemic; the survey found home-schooling had a negative impact on 65% of families. 

“One in three parents, 35%, said the extra cost of feeding children when home-schooling had the biggest effect on household finances. This was a noticeable increase, 14%, from 2020,” the survey found.

Over one-fifth, 22%, of parents reported that expenditure on laptops or tablets to support home-schooling has had an impact on their household finances compared to 11% in 2020." 

Mr Bailey said: “If parents are unable to pay for back to school from their household income or through their savings, I would encourage them to explore cheaper forms of finance, by talking to their local credit union or bank, rather than using a credit card or going to a moneylender.” 

Mental health

The survey also found 70% of families saw negative mental health changes, a slight increase on 2020.

Children missed their friends and social activities, according to 88% of parents, although 60% said children enjoyed being at home and spending more time with family.

Almost one-third of parents want more focus on mental health in schools from September. A further 37% believe the school calendar should be adjusted to make up for the lost time. 

Almost three-quarters said secondary-school children should be vaccinated and almost half believe primary-school children should be vaccinated, the survey found.