2026 UK Primary School Survey Results: Summary For Schools

UK primary schools are spending precious resources on lost property thanks to a lack of labelled school uniform and kit.

Label Planet Ltd surveyed UK primary schools about their experience with lost property. Two thirds ranked their lost property problem as medium or severe, while almost 90% picked name labels as the best solution to the problem.

98% of UK primary schools end up wasting space and time on lost property. While 64% keep items for no more than 3 months, 17% keep items for at least a year or indefinitely. 92% of schools sort lost property on a termly, weekly, or monthly basis just to keep up.

Almost two fifths of schools describe lost property as school-wide, while three fifths point to Years 1-3 as the biggest culprits. Significantly, 90% picked top layers (jumpers, sweaters, cardigans, sweatshirts, and hoodies) and 41% picked coats as being among the top three items most likely to go unclaimed.

While many find the problem “incredibly frustrating”, schools are actively trying different ways to empty their lost property box(es). As one respondent commented – “every small intervention helps someone get their stuff back”. The most highly recommended ideas are:

• Ensuring lost property is accessible to parents, especially at pick up/drop off and school events that require parental attendance.
• Using photographs to show parents the size of the problem. One school demonstrates the difference between labelled and unlabelled lost property, while others photograph individual items waiting to be reclaimed.
• Getting volunteers involved, particularly PTAs and student representatives. This spreads the burden away from office staff and gets parents and children actively involved with the issue.
• Recycling lost items into second hand shops or donating them directly to families or charities.
• Labelling items in-school to boost the amount of labelled school uniform and kit.

While schools rely a variety of ways to reduce and manage lost property, most agree that the best solution is getting parents to use name labels.

Name labels reduce lost property and make it easier to manage. 25-100% of school kit is labelled in 93% of schools with mild issues; this drops to 75% for medium issues and 51% for severe issues. Unfortunately, only 3% of schools say that most school uniform and kit is labelled.

Some parents learn the importance of labelling too late, while others seem to struggle to learn their lesson at all. One respondent quoted a parent who asked, “how am I supposed to know which is mine when it isn't labelled”, while another said, “[parents] complain to us that their child has lost 3 jumpers (but no, their name is not in the jumper!)”.

While 88% of schools believe name labels offer a simple solution, 42% think parental involvement, responsibility, and accountability is equally important. Clearly, schools and parents need to work together to resolve the problem of lost property – with name labels having a key role to play in keeping lost property under control.

Stikins® provide schools, PTAs, and parents with a simple way to reduce lost property and raise funds. These stick on name labels take seconds to apply making them the perfect solution for even the most reluctant of parents. The Stikins® fundraising scheme supplies schools and PTAs with free marketing materials to help promote Stikins® to parents in school and online, while awarding 30% commission when parents order.

Stikins® are also available in a write-on kit, which is perfect for in-school labelling sessions targeting at risk items (like removable top layers and coats). These labels are made with the same material and adhesive but have a special coating suitable for writing on with the pen provided. Each write-on kit contains 60 Stikins® and a pen; they cost £12.99 (less than 22p per label) and are available for next day delivery from Amazon. 

Learn more about Lost Property In UK Primary Schools.