Parents are only just realising M&S is doing 20% off school uniform and kids clothes – how to get the deal

MARKS and Spencer is offering 20% off school uniform and kids’ clothes from this week.

The retailer is giving an incentive to families who buy their back-to-school items early and also donate their pre-loved clothing.

The 20% early-bird discount is available on many items of school clothing.

This includes shirts, skirts and trousers, but you won’t be able to use it for footwear, hosiery, underwear, outerwear, accessories, or school bags and lunch boxes.

You can get the discount by shopping online or in stores where uniform is stocked.

To find your nearest you can use the location checker tool on the M&S website.

It is not only school uniform where parents can get some savings either.

The retailer is also offering 20% off selected kids’ clothes.

As part of the M&S Shwopping scheme, customers who donate their pre-loved items can get 20% off selected kids’ clothing as part of the long-standing partnership the retailer has with Oxfam.

The Shwopping scheme was first launched in 2008 and encourages customers to donate their pre-loved items to the Shwop boxes in participating stores.

The items will then be recycled or rehomed to help raise money to tackle poverty across the world.

Now as an extension of the original scheme, when you bring in old school uniforms, you’ll get a discount on selected items of kids’ clothing.

You’ll need to be a member of Sparks, the M&S loyalty scheme, which is free to join.

You can scan the QR code on the top of donation boxes and receive the discount on the Sparks app.

The back-to-school Shwop scheme will be in place in over 200 stores across the UK and have dedicated school uniform Shwop boxes.

You can then shop via the app or online, or scan your Sparks card in store and the discount will automatically be applied to the valid items.

You can also donate to an Oxfam shop, and if one of your items is from M&S you will receive a £5 M&S voucher.

We checked just how much you could save on school uniform items with the 20% early-bird discount.

A pack of 2 girls’ pinafores, aged 6-7 years, would usually cost £14 but with the discount you could purchase these for £11, saving £3.

And pair of boys’ school trousers, also aged 6-7 years usually cost £11, but with the 20% discount, you could get them for just under £9, saving £2.

Girls’ school shirts currently retail at £13 for a pack of three aged 6-7, with the saving you could get these at £10, a saving of £3.

And boys’ school shirts, for the same age and a pack of two cost £10, meaning they would be £8 with the discount, saving £2.

A pack of two unisex jumpers are priced at £13 online, but with the discount you could get these for just over £10, saving £3.

It may seem like a small saving on individual items, but it can soon mount up if you are buying multiple items for more than one child.

We calculated that if you were purchasing full school uniform for two kids, including pinafores, trousers, shirts, t-shirts and jumpers it would usually come to around £60.

But with the discount it all comes in at around £48, saving you around you around £15.

Meanwhile, items donated and which are suitable hand-me-down quality will be sold in Oxfam shops and on eBay on a new dedicated pre-loved school uniform shop which will launch later this summer.

And any school uniform that can’t be resold in Oxfam shops or on eBay will be recycled or reused wherever possible.

Earlier this month M&S announced that it would be freezing the price of its school uniform for a third year in a row.

M&S school uniform is currently ranked number one by consumers for value for money by YouGov.

Most parents know how to shop around for a good deal especially when it comes to school uniforms as most retailers now have a back-to-school offering.

It all depends on what you are looking for in terms of quality and also what your budget is.

Most retailers have a back-to-school offering so it is worth comparing prices before making a decision.

It could also be beneficial to visit the stores rather than buying online to be able to see and feel what you are getting for your money.

Last year we compiled a list of some of the best places for buying cheap school uniforms and found that supermarkets were a great place to start.