Leeds School Uniform Exchange - Inspiration Guide for setting up a Facebook group to share uniform

SETTING UP A SCHOOL

UNIFORM EXCHANGE

Facebook or WhatsApp group

SETTING UP A SCHOOL UNIFORM EXCHANGE

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED Firstly, thank you for helping our city tackle its waste, reduce its carbon impact and also for helping families save money and make second hand school uniform their first choice.

Before you set up a new school uniform exchange scheme, it is worth checking our map here to see if there is already a scheme. It could be run by a school, PTA, community group or it could be a Facebook page. If there is one, consider whether you could team up with them to help. If you know of a scheme that is not already on our map, please let us know here.

Join us on Facebook at Leeds School Uniform Exchange to keep up to date with what's happening across the city and to network with other people.

CHOOSING THE TYPE OF SCHEME

One of the simplest ways to start a uniform reuse scheme at your school is to use an existing parent Facebook or WhatsApp group. Failing that, you could create a new group solely for uniform exchange. Both options are easy and encourage people to organise the uniform exchanging between themselves so shouldn’t be too time consuming.

If you have a bit more time to give, you could also use a Facebook page or group to advertise a more hands-on uniform redistribution scheme i.e. one where you collect, store and redistribute uniform.

Please note, social media is not always the answer and not everyone uses it.

You might prefer to organise your uniform exchange in a different way. We will be adding more ‘how to’ documents for other types of uniform reuse schemes soon. Keep an eye out on the Facebook group.

Please see the following sections for some top tips on getting started, and the pros and cons of: Using an existing parent Facebook or WhatsApp group (pp. 4-5) Setting up a new Facebook or WhatsApp group (pp. 6-7) Using Facebook to advertise a uniform redistribution scheme (pp. 8-9)

USING AN EXISTING PARENT FACEBOOK OR WHATSAPP GROUP

One of the simplest ways to start promoting your scheme is to use an existing parent Facebook or WhatsApp group. There are loads of great examples across Facebook in particular that parents use as a forum to share information about school life and local issues. You may already be a member or if not, join and start the conversation about uniform exchanging. Find out how to get started on the next page.

TOP TIP 1

TOP TIP 2

TOP TIP 3

Promote the scheme

Stay networked with other schemes

Add details to our map

Share on social media and ask school to help promote

Join Leeds School Uniform Exchange on Facebook to network & stay updated

If you set up a scheme, get in touch here to add it onto the map

HOW TO GET STARTED If there is an admin person for the group, ask for permission to start introducing uniform exchanging If there is no admin, try a couple of posts to test the water Keep plugging away! Keep a closer eye on the site, try and be proactive.

We have loads of resources you can use on your page (see page 18) If you have time, stay networked with other uniform exchange schemes so that you can help each other.

Join us at Leeds School Uniform Exchange on Facebook to stay updated with what’s happening around the city and share what you’re up to with our community.

Tell everyone you know! Share information about your scheme on your own social media and ask others to do the same. Speak to the school as they may be able to help and promote.

PROS

CONS

The easiest way to start the

Uniform exchanging gets lost

conversation and promote

amongst the other posts

your scheme

It can be hard to encourage

The least time consuming

parents to choose second

option

hand

SETTING UP A NEW FACEBOOK OR WHATSAPP GROUP

If you are a school that could use Facebook or you are a parent, PTA or community group, consider setting up a dedicated Facebook Page or WhatsApp group for your school uniform exchange.

Existing pages and groups are great and might work for you but sometimes, posts about uniform can get lost amongst all the other chat.

We have some really good resources you can use to keep the levels of interest and engagement up (see page 18).

TOP TIP 1

TOP TIP 2

TOP TIP 3

Promote the scheme

Be a proactive moderator

Add details to our map

Share on social media and ask the school to help promote

Reply, connect people and comment on posts

If you set up a scheme, get in touch here to add it onto the map

HOW TO GET STARTED Find out how to set up a Facebook Group here. Consider whether you want to have a public or private group - there is a really good short animation explaining the difference here. There are a few public groups/pages but most are private, which can help avoid spam posts.

Naming your scheme - it’s important to make it clear what the group is for.

Include the name of your school or local area too so that people can easily find it e.g. Leeds School Uniform Exchange, Tingley and West Ardsley Uniform Exchange, LS26 School Uniform Scheme, Ralph Thoresby Pre Loved Uniform, Manor Wood Primary Uniform Swap.

Find out how to upload a cover photo here and find photos here.

Your ‘About’ section - give people guidance about using the site and how it works. Have a look at the examples listed above or click here for some generic wording. Remind people of the guidance in regular posts.

Promote the scheme - Tell everyone you know! Share on social media and ask others to do the same. Add the details to our map on our contact form.

Speak to the school as they may be able to help with promotion.

Be a proactive moderator - reply, connect people, comment on posts.

If you'd prefer to set up a WhatsApp group, find out how here.

Encourage people not to throw waste uniform in the bin. You can donate unwanted good quality uniform items to charity shops. If the uniform is worn out you can put it in a textile bank for recycling. There is a map here that shows charity shops and textile banks in Leeds.

PROS

CONS

Shouldn’t take too much time

Not everyone is on Facebook

Very easy to set up

WhatsApp threads can be really

Easy to use and works really

long & offers/requests could get

well in a local area

lost

USING FACEBOOK TO ADVERTISE A UNIFORM REDISTRIBUTION SCHEME

If you have a bit more time to give, you could also use a Facebook page or group to advertise a more hands-on uniform redistribution scheme i.e. one where you collect, store and redistribute uniform.

There are a couple examples on the next page where these redistribution schemes have been really successful. Find out how to get started on the next page.

TOP TIP 1

TOP TIP 2

TOP TIP 3

Decide how involved you want to be

Have a clear 'About' section

Add details to our map

Think about how much time you are able to commit

Be clear about your involvement and how the scheme works

If you set up a scheme, get in touch here to add it onto the map

HOW TO GET STARTED Decide how involved you want to be: Are you happy to receive donations and are you happy to be a collection point (or can you identify a collection point)?

Will you deliver?

Would you be prepared to wash and iron?

Do you have somewhere to store them?

Do you want to cover just your school or a wider local area?

Will you involve the school - e.g. offer to distribute lost property, use them as a collection and distribution point, have a stall at parents evening summer fair etc.?

Do you need people to help you?

See how to set up a new Facebook or WhatsApp group on pages 6-7.

Be clear about your involvement and exactly how involved you want to be. Make a statement in the ‘About’ section of your group that makes this clear. Tingley and West Ardsley Uniform Exchange and LS26 School Uniform Scheme are two great examples.

Be a proactive moderator - reply, connect people, comment on posts.

PROS

CONS

Can be a more vibrant and

People often have no trouble

effective way of distributing

collecting donations but can

second-hand uniform

end up with too much stock

More uniform is identified and

and can struggle storing and

distributed - less is wasted

finding homes for uniform.

Still a fairly easy option

It could start to take up a lot of

depending how involved you

your time

want to be and easy for people

If you take donations, quality

to get involved and help you

and storage could be an issue.

USEFUL RESOURCES

There are plenty of resources to help you set up a uniform exchange scheme in this folder, including: Photos and social media cards How to guide - Facebook or WhatsApp PDF Your 'About' section suggested wording About Leeds School Uniform Exchange Measuring impact

OTHER RESOURCES AND CONTACTS We have set up a dedicated website for Leeds School Uniform Exchange to help you find a scheme or set up a new one. There is also the Leeds School Uniform Exchange Facebook group to help network people who are interested in school uniform reuse - to help them support each other, share advice and tips and to enable people who have uniform to offer to connect with people who want it. Feel free to post in the group to ask for advice or share your new scheme.

We also regularly post about school uniform reuse on the Zero Waste Leeds website, Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

If you need any other help or are interested in getting involved in any other way, please email us on info@zerowasteleeds.org.uk.

@ZEROWASTELEEDS

ZEROWASTELEEDS.ORG.UK

FUNDERS We would like to say a massive thank you to Leeds City Council and Leeds Community Foundation's Jimbo's Fund for supporting Leeds School Uniform Exchange.