'I will go into debt until March': Parents reveal what they do to afford school costs
Sean McGovern, aged 6, at the launch of the Barnardos Back to School Survey 2025. Picture: Patrick Bolger Photography
Parents are raiding their savings, going into debt, and falling into arrears on energy bills just to be able to afford to send their children back to school this September, a survey has found.
The annual Back to School survey for children’s charity Barnardos found that more than half of parents are worried about how they’ll meet the costs this year, as issues around uniforms, voluntary contributions and the increasing cost of digital devices come to the fore.
