School Uniform

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Hi my DH pays the CMS amount to his ex for the DSC, he is of the understanding that this is it. That's all he has to pay. Anything else extra is on top, so he pays for half their music lessons and the school trips. I'm asking because his ex has asked him for half the school uniform money for the last few years. He paid half when the eldest went up to secondary school but he said at the time this was a one off and he couldn't do it every year. Anyway he's received a stream of angry messages about it this year and a demand for money. Is he right? The CMS is it and uniform costs are factored into their calculation? Is there anywhere that tells you officially how they've worked it out?

The thing is it depends so much on varying factors. Is the child in nursery? If so, what I think is fair would be much more than what I'd think fair if they are 13 and in secondary school for example.

It's impossible for CMS to put in place a system that accounts for varying factors like that though which is where a lot of the issues lie I think.

To some, £260 a month for one child may be enough depending on your wage and how often the NRP has them (therefor also paying for them on their days ontop of the £260 a month).

If you're child is in nursery with a bill of over 1k a month though, that's not going to be a fair contribution obviously.

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I wholeheartedly agree! Just wondering what the posters who think it's "bare minimum" or "a joke" think it should be.

Personally I think it should take into account childcare, both parents incomes / situations, other children, custody, probably even other factors! I don't think you can point blank say "it's not enough, it's bare minimum" based on what very little information we usually have.

If you're looking at average wage, you also need to look at the average cost of raising a child.

The end of 2021 data from Child Poverty Action Group put the total cost of raising a child, in the UK, from birth to 18 at £160,692 for a two parent family and £193,801 for a single parent family. That includes food, clothing, activities, transport, a proportion of rent and utilities etc. If we say that split custody families come under single parent families, we can use the higher amount to say that, on average, raising a child costs £897.23 per month.

This £897.23 should them be split between Dad and Mum with them both being responsible for £448.62 (rounded). So the costs that Dad incurs during his time plus his financial contributions should total that amount. To me, that suggests that the amount recommended by CMS on the average wage may not be high enough as the days he has the child are unlikely to cost near £200. If they do, however, then it is high enough.

Of course this is purely a mathematical exercise based entirely on averages.

A good starting point though I suppose!

@Starseeking your children still require childcare, OP' SC is at 2ndary school, so no childcare.

Also, a single mum would most likely be entitled to UC help with childcare.

Ultimately, if school uniforms didn't exist, kids would just need more regular clothes. Would we expect additional maintenance for it?

It’s great that your step children get certain things paid by their dad. You talk of buying them some summer clothes. But what about all the other stuff? Eg Underwear, bras (if a girl), swimwear, socks, hats, gloves, coats, shoes, school trips, which may result in needing waterproofs, wellies, walking boots etc plus sports kits and shoes for hobbies such as football, rugby, martial arts, dance etc.

If he has them a lot, he should be paying proportionally for all this stuff plus half of the uniform. Is there going to be another discussion if the secondary child wants to go on a school trip or even just something like D of E in year 9, which is an expense to get the kit and so forth?

I think CMS is intended to cover school uniform.

However that doesn’t mean that it will.
And what is technically legally right isn’t necessarily morally right.

And the cost of school uniform can vary greatly depending on age of the child and the school.

There was a thread on this recently. I linked on there to an article about a survey showing the average people paid for school uniform per child was between £300-400. Secondary uniform can be so expensive. My DSD’s blazer at a secondary state school cost over £150.

Theres a reason why the government brought in legislation last year to make schools limit the number of branded items required, and to provide options for parents on a low income to afford it.

Personally I think it’s fair for him to pay half as it’s not an optional expense.

@Iamnotthe1 that includes childcare which is significant when in nursery and that may have already done, the average without childcare was something Like £78,000.