The cost of buying digital devices, such as iPads or laptops, for children is influencing which schools their parents send them to, Barnardo's has said. 

With a return to school just weeks away, parents have begun to organise new uniforms, textbooks and sports gear. 

However, on Newstalk Breakfast, Barnardo's National Manager Stephen Moffatt said costs have surged in recent years. 

“A lot of schools are requiring crested uniforms as well as now introducing crested track suits for secondary schools,” he explained. 

“We're seeing, you know, more and more schools requiring parents to purchase specific digital devices, iPads, tablets and laptops that are sometimes upwards of €800, €900. 

“Voluntary contributions still remain quite high, although there has been some work done by the Government over the last number of years on those. 

“And then we're also seeing other other costs that are sort of creeping up - school tours, extracurricular activities within schools and in primary schools.”

Mr Moffatt continued that the average cost of a school uniform is €230, something that has “snuck up over the last number of years”. 

“Some schools will actually, unfortunately, be considerably more than that,” he said. 

“There is guidance from the Department of Education that schools should try and have options for iron on crests and things like that. 

“But unfortunately, not enough schools are doing that. 

“So many parents are in touch with us responding to the survey saying their huge frustration that they have to go to a specific shop, buy an entire uniform together.

“That adds up for lots of parents who might have two or three children in school.”

So-called ‘voluntary contributions’ remain an issue, with many parents fearful about how their child might be treated if they do not pay them. 

“They don't feel like it's voluntary, they feel like if they don't pay, there might be something that happens to their child,” Mr Moffatt said.  

“They might be excluded from, say, access to lockers - that's one concern for parents. 

“Or they might feel that other students are going to find out or that people within their community will find out that they haven't paid a voluntary contribution. 

“So, despite being under financial pressure, they do end up paying it.”

Some schools even require families to purchase digital devices, which is influencing where parents send their children to school. 

“I spoke to a parent a couple of weeks ago,” Mr Moffatt said.   

“Her child was going into first year in school; there were two local schools she was choosing from.

“One school [asked them to buy an] €890 laptop.

“The other, there was no digital device.

“She leaned towards the school with no digital device cost - that shouldn't be having any impact on where a child goes.”

Main image: A group of school children in school uniforms. Picture by: NorthScape / Alamy Stock Photo