Primary school in Barnsley doing 'everything possible' to help families make ends meet
Joseph Locke Primary School recently decided to keep their on-site foodbank and uniform 'pop-up' shop permanently
Staff, pupils, and parents at a South Yorkshire school are coming together in an effort to try and 'make life easier' for those in the local community.
It's as an on-site foodbank and a free 'pop-up' uniform shop are being kept on at Joseph Locke Primary School in Barnsley to help families who're struggling financially.
Both services were set up at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown nearly two years ago.
Assistant Headteacher Faye Wood hopes they'll still be up and running in years to come:
"Our staff are really dedicated to make sure that the uniforms are washed and ready to go out.
"Everything looks nice and presentable when it's given away. We're all pulling together as a team to help our families.
"The cost of living is just rising and rising, so we just want to provide whatever help we possibly can.
"We have all this spare uniform. Lots of parents don't want to waste these clothes, as children can grow out of them so quickly.
"It's good for parents, as they know they're helping out another family by donating.
"It's not for a particular family, both services are for anybody.
"The children at this school have all said they'd like to take from the services and donate where they can as well, so we've made it into a very positive thing.
"Pupils here want to go up to the pop-up uniform shop, they want to see it for themselves.
"We're getting so many donations of clothes and food, but also parents are really raving about it all and telling us about how useful it's proving to be.
"Hopefully, we may be able to expand more and take it to the wider community. We'll see where it takes us!"