Pupils can be 'marked out' if they do not have the correct uniform

Seventeen of the 22 local education authorities in Wales now have school uniform grant schemes, according to the Citizens Advice survey.

But the help available to parents in Wales for the new term varies greatly with five LEAs offering nothing at all.

The Welsh Assembly Government is being urged to approve a minimum grant scheme of �100 for families who are eligible.

Across Britain. the survey shows that school clothing grants are now available in far fewer parts and are worth less than they were two years ago.

But Wales is bucking the trend and Wrexham was the last authority to reintroduce a uniform grant scheme in 2003.

At the moment the grants are discretionary, but Citizens Advice wants the UK government to introduce a statutory duty for LEAs to provide uniform grants.

Not having the proper uniform can lead to a child being disciplined, marked out as being poor or even as a disruptive influence Citizens Advice Cymru's Fran Targett

It says the average annual cost of providing school uniform for a child is now �185 and many parents on low incomes are struggling to meet the demands.

Even the most generous authority throughout the whole of Wales and England - Merthyr Tydfil - only provides a grant of �142.58 when a child transfers to secondary school.

Wrexham has reintroduced a grant scheme. In Monmouthshire and Newport, help is limited to �25, while in Bridgend the amount available is decided by the school, says Citizens Advice.

Citizens Advice Cymru Director Fran Targett said: "Not having the proper uniform can lead to a child being disciplined, marked out as being poor or even as a disruptive influence.

"It can mean young people are excluded from the social and academic life of the school."

Ms Targett said they were "encouraged" by moves by the Welsh Assembly Government to address inconsistencies here.

Low cost credit union grants are available for uniforms in four areas

These included the introduction of low cost credit union schemes in four pilot areas across Wales - Montgomeryshire, Caerphilly, Conwy and the Clwyd coast.

"However, we would urge the assembly to go further than this and approve a proposal for this autumn's budget that would bring a minimum grant scheme to provide financial assistance to families whose children are entitled to free school meals.

"This is likely to be a grant of �100 for pupils about to enter secondary school.

"At least then we would have a consistent level of support that would go someway to address the child poverty agenda across Wales."

A Welsh Assembly Government spokeswoman said it was committed and had a legal obligation to provide equality of opportunity for all pupils.

"The assembly is currently discussing proposals for its budget for next year. The draft budget will be published in October."