'It's needed more now than ever': School clothes on sale for as little as 50p as Willenhall community hub offers help for struggling families

As children return to school or attend classes for the first time, many families have been left worried about the added costs of purchasing school clothes for the coming year. 

However, The Hive community centre, on The Square, New Invention, Willenhall, is offering a range of quality, preloved back-to-school essentials to help those struggling with costs. 

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The uniforms, which were either donated by parents or from nearby schools, range from trousers, jumpers and shoes, to badged blazers and shirts, all for £1 or less. 

Deborah Mohammed, charity business manager at The Hive, said: "In 2018, we applied for and received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund so that we could help our parents with back-to-school costs. 

"It blew our minds how much it actually costs to send our children to school, especially the facilities that insist on having logos on their uniforms. 

"Some parents spend over £300 to get their children's uniforms, which is obviously made worse if they have more than one child. We wanted to help in any way we could."

Deborah said that the idea started following a consultation event, where many parents shared their worries about the costs of clothing their children for school. 

She said, "It's such a help for these parents. We actually started on the back of a consultation event, a lot of parents were talking about how much they were struggling with school costs. 

"I believe it's more important than ever that parents have access to services like this, and that they are cutting costs where they can."

The Hive offers general school clothes that are fit for most facilities, including trousers and white shirts, as well as badged items for many schools that are local to New Invention. 

She said: "We have clothing items for Woodlands Primary School, New Invention Infants, and Beacon, as well as general items like trousers and shoes.

"Some are donated by parents who have no need for them anymore, and some are donated by schools. We launder the items and then redistribute them to those who need them."

Deborah said that she has seen an increase in the number of parents using the hub this year, saying that the service is 'a real lifeline' for struggling parents. 

She said: "We have noticed an increase as we started getting more items from different schools. It just shows how much of a lifeline this service is for some parents. 

"And there is a sort of stigma about using preloved clothes, but I always say, if I wouldn't put it on my children, I wouldn't put it on yours."

The items range from 50p per item for clothing without a logo to £1 for items that include a logo.