Barnsley Council to provide £2.7 million of financial support for school children and families

Barnsley Council’s cabinet will discuss proposals to provide a £2.7 million investment for a package of support to help families across the borough and to ensure every child is ready to learn in September.  

Barnsley Council’s proposing to launch a school uniform scheme and distribute Year 11 support packs for all families in Barnsley. 

These initiatives are part of our Great Childhoods Ambition, aimed at supporting all children and young people in Barnsley and providing them with the foundation for a successful future. 

School uniform scheme 

As part of our Every Child in School Everyday commitment, Barnsley’s school uniform support scheme is set to launch shortly and will help remove barriers to school attendance while saving families money.  

For the 2025-2026 academic year, families who live in the Barnsley local authority area (who pay their council tax to Barnsley Council), will be able to get a reimbursement voucher worth £50 per primary school aged child and £100 per secondary school aged child, even if they attend school outside Barnsley. Families can claim these vouchers at their local Post Office. 

Year 11 support packs 

To make sure that all Year 11 pupils have equal access to the resources they need, we'll be distributing support packs directly to Barnsley schools.  

The packs will include: 

• items to help with revision, coursework and projects
• equipment suitable for Year 11 pupils and where applicable exams  
• health and wellbeing information. 

We’re also working through the details on how Barnsley families whose children attend school outside the borough can access packs, including those attending specialist provision. 

Councillor Trevor Cave, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services, said: “The Great Childhoods Ambition is one of the biggest initiatives that we’ve ever done for children and young people in Barnsley, and we remain committed to ensuring no child is left behind.  

“By providing support with school uniform costs and providing all Year 11 pupils with support packs, we’re helping approximately 37,000 children and young people prepare for the new school year and giving them the tools they need to succeed. 

“We know that the start of a new school year can be a financially challenging time for families, which is why this practical support is so important, making sure that our families have more money in their pockets. 

“We’re committed to removing barriers to education, so every child is supported to attend school every day with the opportunity to thrive, reach their full potential and be healthy, confident, and inspired to learn.” 

This investment has been made possible by additional one-off funds from an improved local government financial settlement for 2025/26. This enables us to invest in initiatives that support our Council Plan priorities, such as financial support for businesses and free bus travel for under 18s, announced earlier this year.  

We continue to explore other options to provide support for our residents, communities and businesses across Barnsley.  

We’ll be promoting more details about each scheme shortly.