AN angry single mum has hit out at education chiefs over plans to slash school uniform grants.

Helen Townley has waged a defiant campaign against the council's cost-cutting decision by sending her children to school in other clothes.

Mum-of-four Helen, of Leyton Avenue, Leyland, plans to continue her two-week classroom campaign until the end of this week and is petitioning parents to join her fight.

She said: "I get around £86 each week, by the time I have paid for food, gas, electric, a telephone, and so on, there is not going to be much left to buy uniforms.

"Next they'll be wanting to stop free school dinners.

"I would love to go back to work, and I did for about three months, but I just couldn't afford the childcare expenses.

"Cutting school uniform grants is going to make it very difficult for unemployed parents to buy decent uniforms for their children and when they go to high school, they will be sent home if they don't have a proper uniform.

"It will also encourage bullying because some children will end up going to school in old clothes.

"Single mums have it hard enough as it is . It feels like this government is honing in on us simply because we are single parents."

Under the new measures, parents on Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance with school-age children, will only get cash for school uniforms when their child is in Year 7.

Eligible parents will be entitled to a £90 grant cheque at the start of their child's high school term to cover the cost of clothing for the remainder of his or her school life.

Discretionary grants will be available to pupils attending residential special schools and those in exceptional circumstances.

The cutbacks are are being planned in reaction to the county council's school clothing grant budget cut of £625,000 set in February.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: "Our decision to focus funding in the classroom is in line with government policy to boost our children's attainment.

"We are putting money directly where it will benefit most. It will be used to employ more teachers, buy more books and install more computers in classrooms."

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