Nearly one in three parents in Scotland (32%) say they expect to go without things for themselves to manage the cost of their children returning to school, as pupils across Scotland head back to the classroom this week and families continue to face financial and emotional pressures long after the summer holidays have ended.
New polling commissioned by Save the Children also found that almost a third (32%) of Scottish parents say they feel financially stretched by the return to school.
The findings are part of Save the Children’s No Summer Break from Poverty campaign, highlighting how, for many families, the financial pressures of the school holidays don’t disappear when the new term begins. Instead, the cost of uniforms, school supplies and other essentials quickly replaces the expense of keeping children fed, occupied and entertained over the summer, leaving little opportunity for families to recover.
While 37% of parents say they are looking forward to the return of routine after the summer holidays, many are already making sacrifices to ensure their children have what they need for the new school term.
Key Stats
- 32% of Scottish parents say they expect to go without things for themselves to manage the cost of their children returning to school.
- 32% say they feel financially stretched about the return to school.
- 37% say they are looking forward to the routine returning after the summer holidays.
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland at Save the Children Scotland, said:
"As children across Scotland return to school this week, many parents are hoping life will settle back into routine. But for too many families, the end of the summer holidays doesn't bring financial relief, it simply marks the start of the next set of costs.
"After weeks of trying to make the summer memorable for their children, parents are now facing the cost of uniforms, school supplies and other essentials, with many expecting to go without themselves to make sure their children have what they need.
"No parent should have to sacrifice their own basic needs so their child can start school ready to learn. That's why we need the Scottish Government to take urgent action to accelerate progress to meet its child poverty targets and ensure families have the support they need throughout the year. The decisions taken today help children now, shape their futures and will help build a fairer Scotland for everyone."
This year Save the Children has put together new resources to help families during the summer break at Things to do with Kids for Free | Save the Children UK
Notes to Editors
Save the Children’s Big Summer Survey was conducted by Opinium between June 22nd - July 3rd 2026 via online panel. 2,000 UK parents with at least one child under the age of 16 were polled. The full results can be found here .
The data was weighted to be representative of parents across the UK by the parents age, parents gender, working status and social grade. Respondents in Scotland were then boosted to increase the number of respondents from this region while maintaining a robust spread among demographics. There were 303 respondents in Scotland, adjusted to 321 after weighting.
About Save the Children Scotland
In Scotland today, one million people live in poverty, a quarter of them are children. We work with children, families and partners in communities across Scotland to challenge poverty, campaign to tackle and prevent the drivers of poverty and lessen its impact on children and families. We amplify the voices and experiences of children, young people, parents and communities and provide opportunities to challenge and solve poverty. We work to lessen the impact of poverty on children's learning and development in the early years.