Around 35,000 individual school uniform items have been distributed to schools across Swansea and Bridgend through Faith in Families’ Cwtch Mawr Multibank Cymru, helping to ease the financial pressure of getting children ready for the new school year.
The major distribution by the Swansea charity has reached 26 primary and secondary schools, 20 in Swansea and six in Bridgend, with approximately 2,509 backpack-led uniform allocations delivered across the two areas.
The school uniform programme was supported through Welsh Government essential-items funding, with uniforms sourced through Welsh schoolwear supplier Bergoni.
The full procurement included 2,903 school uniform packs, made up of 21,386 supplier units and components. When individual items contained within multipacks, including shirts, underwear, socks and tights, are counted, the full procurement equates to approximately 41,000 individual garments and items.
Around 35,000 individual items have now been distributed. The full procurement cost £160,065 and has an indicative equivalent UK retail value of approximately £205,000, based on a high-street comparison.
The initiative began when Phil Evans, Referrals Coordinator at Cwtch Mawr Multibank Cymru, was asked to explore how the Multibank could provide more practical support to families ahead of the new school year. His work identified school uniform as a clear area of need and provided the starting point for the programme.
The proposal was then developed with guidance from Faith in Families’ Senior Management Team before Jon Waite, Facility and Development Manager at Cwtch Mawr Multibank Cymru, led the due diligence, supplier engagement and procurement process.
This included developing the uniform pack model, reviewing pricing and supplier terms, carrying out quality and sizing checks, and ensuring the programme could deliver the greatest possible impact within the available funding and timescales.
Schools across Swansea and Bridgend were invited to opt in to the initiative, with uniform allocated according to school size and individual requirements wherever possible.
Jon Waite, Facility and Development Manager at Cwtch Mawr Multibank Cymru, said:
“For many families, the start of a new school year brings excitement, but it also brings another long list of costs that simply cannot be avoided. School uniform should never become another pressure that leaves parents having to choose what they can and cannot afford.
“This programme shows what can happen when we identify a real need, work together and turn essential-items funding into practical support that reaches people where they are.
“Phil’s initial project work gave us the seed of the idea, and from there an enormous amount of work went into creating something substantial, good quality and genuinely useful to families.
“Getting around 35,000 uniform items into 26 schools means practical support is now available to families through people they already know and trust, protecting dignity and removing some of the pressure of getting children ready to learn.”
The programme involved a significant logistical operation at Cwtch Mawr Multibank Cymru, with thousands of items sorted, allocated, boxed and prepared for individual schools before deliveries took place.
Faith in Families has thanked Gail Devine at BAVO, who supported the team in quickly identifying and contacting schools throughout Bridgend, and Darren and the team at Bergoni, who worked closely with Cwtch Mawr on sourcing the uniform, liaising with suppliers and coordinating collection.
The charity has also thanked the participating schools for working with the team to coordinate deliveries and ensure the uniform can reach families who need it.
