Back to school with Shaun. TOG24 wants to hear from parents across the UK
Back-to-school season is here, and while our Shaun the Sheep x TOG24 collection is already out and about, we’re taking this moment to celebrate all the little wins (and frustrations) that come with clothing children for school, play and everything in between.
We know uniforms get the spotlight in late summer. Costs can be a real stretch: the Department for Education’s latest survey found families in England spent an average of £249.58 on uniforms per child in 2023/24, with PE kit making up more than half of that. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each run grant schemes to help, but the level of support, and how easy it is to access, varies depending on where you live.
But uniforms are only one piece of the puzzle. Parents everywhere juggle rain showers on the school run, endless washing cycles, lost jumpers, grass-stained trousers, and the reality that children seem to grow overnight. A pair of shoes or a coat needs to survive not just a classroom, but football in the park, an after-school club, or a downpour at the bus stop.
That’s why we want to hear directly from you. We’ve put together a short questionnaire to capture how families across the UK approach the daily challenge of kitting out their kids. We’re especially interested in how these experiences differ by region and how they impact parents living in different areas, because a damp Cornish September isn’t the same as a windy Aberdeen one.
Your feedback will help us understand:
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the biggest hurdles parents face, from uniforms to everyday gear
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where support feels lacking or hard to access
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how weather and lifestyle shape clothing choices
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what makes clothes last (or not last) as long as they should
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how the children themselves feel about what they wear, from comfort and confidence to how rules affect their day
We’ll be gathering parents’ experiences from across the UK, and the patterns that emerge will help us highlight the real issues families are facing right now. Just as our earlier guide to simple clothing repairs showed that a few small fixes can extend the life of a favourite jumper or pair of trousers, these shared stories will give us a clearer picture of where children’s clothing works well, and where it really doesn’t.
That could be the strain of buying full uniform sets, the struggle to find affordable PE kit locally, or the constant battle with the weather. By collecting voices from different parts of the country we hope to reflect how these challenges look in Yorkshire compared with Caithness, or Cardiff compared with County Down.
If you’d like to contribute, you can add your voice through our reasonably short questionnaire. It only takes a few minutes, and together those insights will build a UK-wide snapshot of what families need most from school and play wear.
