Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

No. Edinburgh School Uniform Bank no longer operates public drop-off baskets. We do not accept donations of preloved items. To keep pre-loved clothing in local circulation, we encourage families to donate second-hand items directly to local school swap schemes across the city.

You can purchase brand-new uniform items directly through our online wishlist. They are delivered straight to our team, who are always delighted to open parcels of donated items and get them out to local children and young people.

We only accept in-person donations of new items by arrangement. We are a very small team with limited space, so please don’t be offended if we say No Thankyou to the items you wish to donate – we might simply not have space for them. To find out more, please email us.

Every child deserves to feel included, valued, and confident when stepping into the classroom. Many of the young people referred to us are living in extreme hardship. Providing brand-new, well-fitting uniform and footwear supports dignity, boosts self-esteem, and removes the stigma often associated with hardship. One wee girl who received a new coat said “Does that mean it will have my name in it instead of someone else’s?”

The demand for items varies with the time of year and many other factors. Please check our live online wishlist for an up-to-date list of current priority sizes and items.

Yes! Corporate partners, schools, and community groups can host a virtual donation drive using our online wishlist, or organize a fundraising appeal to help us purchase high-need items in bulk. We also love in-kind donations from work teams and community groups, but please email us first to check what items we need at the moment.

Your donation of new clothing could be the difference between a child going into school with their head held high or staying away. With your help, we boost children and young people’s confidence, inclusion, attendance, engagement, participation and wellbeing.

Yes. Please email us to ask for our bank details.

Yes. You can tick the Gift Aid box if you donate through CAF Donate, or let us know if you are donating directly to our bank account. Either way, we will receive an extra 25p for every £1 you donate at zero cost to you.

Yes. Regular recurring donations are exceptionally helpful because they allow us to budget, plan ahead, and maintain a steady stock of essential sizes throughout the entire school year.

Yes. Please email us to ask for details.

Yes. We love it when the whole community comes together to support local families. Partnering with Edinburgh School Uniform Bank is a powerful, high-impact way for your business or organization to deliver meaningful Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Community Benefits in Edinburgh. Please contact us to discuss the best way to support our work.

Yes. Our supporters love taking part in events like the Kiltwalk and the Great North Run to raise money for our work. Whether you want to take on a challenge, run a bake sale or anything else, we would be delighted to hear about it.

Your donation could be the difference between a child going into school with their head held high or staying away. With your help, we boost children and young people’s confidence, inclusion, attendance, engagement, participation and wellbeing.

Yes. Edinburgh School Uniform Bank is a Scottish Registered Charity (OSCR Registration Number: SC047524).

Our volunteers undertake a range of tasks including unpacking and sorting donated items, packing bags of uniform and other essentials, preparing items to go to local schools, and delivering clothing to our professional partners across the city. There are always biscuits, tea and coffee involved too!

No. We have a flexible rota and volunteers can sign up to slots that fit in with their other commitments. Many volunteers come in regularly, but if you can only help now and then you are also very welcome.

No prior experience is necessary. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds. Our friendly team provides full guidance and support during every session so you can feel comfortable and confident in your role.

We are based at Edinburgh Park near the Gyle. Buses and trams are close by and there is free on-site parking.

No, we do not currently have any opportunities for groups to volunteer with us. We are a very small team with limited space and sadly it just isn’t feasible to host groups of volunteers at the moment. If you are looking for a group activity we suggest contacting Volunteer Edinburgh.

Please email us to find out more.

No, we’re sorry that we cannot help you directly. We are a very small charity with a small team and no government funding, and there are thousands of families in Edinburgh who would like to access free school uniform.

By working with schools and professionals instead of managing individual enquiries, our small team can focus on providing new clothing to schools across the city and preparing Clothing Crisis Packs quickly for families in the greatest need such as families in crisis or those who have lost everything in a house fire.

We have limited resources so we cannot provide free uniform to everyone. School staff see their pupils every day and they know who is most in need of help with school uniform. We work closely with school staff and support workers from other agencies to make sure that help is available to the families who need it the most.

No. We are completely separate from the City of Edinburgh Council. We are a registered charity. We receive no government funding, so we focus our resources on families in the greatest need.

Please visit our Signposting page for more resources and local support services.

We provide Clothing Crisis Packs on a referral-only basis for those who are in crisis and have no other way of accessing school clothing or money to buy clothing. They must meet the following criteria:

• are enrolled at a City of Edinburgh School, and 
• have a demonstrable need for school clothing to avoid adverse consequences around attendance, participation or wellbeing, and 
• cannot obtain suitable clothing via their own in-school ‘uniform bank’ or other local clothing initiatives, and 
• face significant disadvantage compared to their peers in accessing financial and practical support to obtain school clothing.  

You need to tell us the child’s school, year group, gender, initials and DAY of birth. This is for our internal admin. We also need to know their clothing size (and foot size if you are requesting footwear), and what colour and style of clothing is preferred. You will also need to pass on your full contact details. 

When completing the form you will be asked:

• How well do you know this child/young person and/or their main parent/carer? 
• Why do they face significant disadvantage compared to their peers?  
• Please explain why this child/young person needs new school uniform at this time. 
• Please explain what impact a set of new uniform from ESUB would have, and what the consequences would be if this child/young person does not qualify for a Clothing Crisis Pack. 
• What other resources or support have you tried to help the family to access? 

We will ask you for information about the family’s circumstances, and what other forms of support you are helping the family with including the Council’s clothing grant. 

We will only provide one bag of new uniform per calendar year (Jan to Dec) for each child/young person, unless there are exceptional circumstances or they are changing school. Please contact us before submitting a second request if you consider that there are exceptional circumstances.

You can request up to 8 brand new items from an extensive list. Our aim is to allow you to select the items most needed by the child or young person. We ask that you request a maximum of 2 of the same item if possible.
 

It is extremely important to obtain accurate sizes for the child from the adult the child or young person lives with. The child may be 9 years old but they may fit age 11-12 year-old clothes. Please do not guess based on year group. It is quite common from P7 onwards for a young person to have had a growth spurt and need adult sizes. The issue is even more important for teenagers e.g. collar size for boys, waist size and inside leg length for boys’ trousers, maybe chest size for girls, or is it S/M/L/XL/XXL, or Adult size 12/14/16 for instance for girls.

Please select the correct size on the form. Tell us as much information as you can to help us provide the most suitable clothes. 

Please allow for room for growth in primary children. While we do not wish to provide clothing that swamps a child or young person, a little growth room extends the useful life of their clothing. 

Please clarify any specific requirements. One referrer said a teenager would only wear long sleeved shirts for personal reasons, another said the child had sensory issues so needed less fussy clothes. We want to make sure the items we provide are suitable for the young person receiving them. Realistically, it can be difficult to meet all requirements but we will do the best we can. 

Upon receipt of a request we aim to provide the completed uniform pack within approximately three weeks.  This can vary and where possible we will notify you if we believe it may take longer to provide the uniform pack.  In addition, during the months of May-August when we are preparing hundreds of packs it can take longer to provide a clothing pack.

Please let us know both the preferred and alternative colour for each uniform item you request as this helps us to have your bags ready sooner. There may be supply chain issues at times and some items may be more difficult for us to get hold of than others. We usually have white polos in stock, so a bag with white polos may be ready sooner than a bag asking for green or navy polos. 

We will deliver the pack to your workplace as soon as we can. The address that you ask us to deliver to must be easily accessible with someone available to accept the delivery during office hours. Alternatively you are welcome to collect it from our premises at Edinburgh Park, by arrangement. 

No, you or a colleague must receive the pack from us then pass it on to the family/young person in whatever way is most appropriate for them.

Contact us to confirm which items need to be exchanged.  List all items needed along with sizes and any other requirements.  When collecting the new items please ensure the original items are returned at that time, complete with their original labels if possible. 

Referrers make an application on behalf of a family. Please work with the adult who helps the child/young person to be ready for school, or directly with older teenagers as appropriate. 

Our service is anonymous and we wish to ensure those receiving our uniform packs do so with dignity. If you would like to publicise photos on social media, please ensure none of the clothes from our packs would be recognised when the child wears them, no paperwork is visible and no children are in the photo. Please contact us to discuss further. 

Refrain from entering any identifiable information.  For instance, please do not tell us the child’s name and address. 

We work with schools and community groups such as youth clubs to support them in providing school essentials to their families. Every community is different, so we tailor our support so that families can access free clothing and footwear in the way that is most accessible and dignified for them. 

We are rolling out our programme of community partnerships according to local needs and priorities. Our aim is to work closely with staff and volunteers in schools and groups where we can make a real difference. 

We are currently based in Edinburgh Park. 

We serve the whole of the City of Edinburgh. 

There are several similar organisations in other parts of Scotland and the rest of the UK. We each operate independently but we are often in touch with one another to share best practice and to support each other. 

Families who meet certain criteria are eligible for a School Clothing Grant from the council. Details can be found here. 

We provide uniform for children regardless of whether their family qualifies for the grant or not. Children grow and their circumstances change but they always need the chance to fit in with their peers and be fully included in school life. 

We support thousands of children and young people every year. In the year 2025-26 we supported an estimated 2,523 children and young people.

No. We are completely separate from the City of Edinburgh Council. We are a registered charity.

We receive no government funding. We rely on donations from individuals, groups and businesses who are very generous in supporting our work, as well as grant funding. We currently hold grants from the Robertson Trust and the Bank of Scotland Foundation. Further details can be found in our annual accounts on the Documents page.