How can families contain Belgium’s rising back-to-school costs?
The CPAS in Ans has introduced a €50 reimbursement for eligible school expenses, offering targeted relief as families across French-speaking Belgium face unevenly rising back-to-school costs.
In 30 seconds
- The CPAS d’Ans allocated €3,500 for reimbursements of up to €50 per eligible child.
- Claims require an identity card and proof such as receipts or a school certificate, according to La DH.
- FAMIWAL and Famiris normally add the annual school-age supplement automatically to July allowances paid in August.
- French-speaking schools must provide a written estimate of charges and offer instalments on request when a bill exceeds €50.
The public social welfare centre in Ans, near Liège, has introduced a €50 reimbursement for each eligible child ahead of the 2026–2027 school year, La DH reported on 18 August. The measure is open to families receiving the revenu d’intégration sociale, or RIS, and covers items including school supplies, sports clothing, school-charged books or photocopies and unreimbursed bus travel. The practical message for eligible residents is simple: keep every receipt and school certificate, then submit the claim to the CPAS before the end of October.
The CPAS has allocated €3,500 to the scheme, according to the newspaper’s report. Families identified as eligible received a personalised letter and can present their identity card and proof of payment at the welfare centre’s reception. Anyone who believes they qualify but received no letter should contact the CPAS d’Ans rather than assume they are excluded. The assistance is municipal and narrowly targeted; it is not a new payment available throughout Wallonia.
Why the squeeze persists when headline inflation eases
The intervention illustrates a broader problem with the rentrée scolaire: a modest national inflation figure does not necessarily describe the bill confronting a household with several children. ’s consumer-price data show that the general index has continued to fluctuate, while individual categories—including electricity and private rents in June 2026—have moved differently. A family’s remaining school budget therefore depends not only on notebooks and pens but also on housing, food, transport and childcare costs competing for the same income.
La DH’s reporting describes inflation as having accumulated over previous years while some school-related spending categories rose particularly sharply. This distinction matters. A stable pencil price offers little comfort if a pupil suddenly needs a calculator, protective workwear, sports shoes or a computer. The Ligue des familles has previously estimated average initial costs, excluding computer equipment, at €255 per primary pupil and €428 per secondary pupil. Its more recent work warns that vocational and technical education can cost substantially more because families may have to obtain specialised tools, clothing and safety equipment.
Those estimates are not a universal tariff. Bills vary by school, year group, study pathway and what a family can reuse. Parents should first inventory last year’s bag, folders, calculator and sports kit; wait for the definitive school list before buying specialist items; compare generic products rather than assume a named brand is compulsory; and ask whether the school operates second-hand sales, group purchases or equipment loans.
What schools may charge
In the , access to compulsory education is constitutionally free, but that does not make every part of school life costless. Official guidance on enseignement.be requires schools to provide parents with a detailed written estimate of expected charges before the school year or at enrolment. Periodic statements must identify the amount, purpose and compulsory or optional nature of each charge. When a bill exceeds €50, the organising authority must offer instalments if parents request them.
The rules distinguish classroom-related charges from extras such as morning or evening childcare and lunchtime supervision. The Fédération’s guidance also says schools may not impose a particular retailer or brand. Parents who see an unexplained brand name, voluntary association contribution or vague lump sum should ask the direction—school management—for the legal basis and an itemised account. A calm written request creates a useful record and often resolves misunderstandings faster than an informal dispute at the school gate.
The French-speaking system’s free-supplies policy has expanded progressively but remains politically contested and does not erase every cost. The Ligue des familles said in February 2026 that the planned treatment of sixth-primary pupils would leave an inconsistent final-year gap. Families should therefore verify the rule applying to their child’s specific year rather than rely on information from an older sibling’s rentrée.
Which automatic payments should families check?
Walloon families normally receive the annual age supplement—commonly called the prime scolaire—automatically with July family allowances paid in early August. FAMIWAL says no application is required. The amount varies with the child’s age, birth-date regime and entitlement to increased allowances. For children born from 1 January 2020, its published 2026 amounts range from €25.36 for ages zero to four to €101.46 from age 17; different tables apply to older birth cohorts.
In , Famiris likewise pays the supplément d’âge annuel automatically in August. Its indexed rates effective from 1 March 2026 range from €25.36 for children under six to €63.41 for ages 12–17, with €101.46 for eligible students aged 18–24 in higher education. Famiris stresses that the payment follows age rather than school level until age 18.
Belgium’s institutional and linguistic split matters here. A family living in Wallonia should consult FAMIWAL or its own Walloon payment fund; a Brussels household can use Famiris or another Brussels fund. In Flanders, the equivalent framework is the Groeipakket, and parents should search in Dutch for the schooltoeslag and contact their uitbetaler. The relevant local authority may be labelled commune in French and gemeente in Dutch, while the social welfare office is CPAS or OCMW. Entitlement usually follows residence and family status, not the language spoken at home, although newcomers may need to show residence documents or clarify cross-border circumstances.
A useful three-step check
First, confirm that the annual supplement arrived in the account receiving family allowances. Second, ask the school for its written cost estimate and separate compulsory expenses from optional purchases. Third, contact the local CPAS/OCMW if the remaining bill cannot be met. Municipal help differs: Ans’s €50 reimbursement is one example, not a national entitlement, and another commune may provide vouchers, second-hand material or assistance assessed by a social worker.
Families in Ans have until the end of October to use the new reimbursement, according to La DH. What remains unclear is how many children the €3,500 envelope will ultimately cover and whether the measure will return in later years. CPAS president Patrice Lempereur warned in the report that federal welfare and unemployment-policy changes could make systematic local assistance harder to sustain. For now, the safest approach is to apply early, preserve supporting documents and ask for instalments before a school invoice becomes an arrear.
What to do
If you live in Ans and may qualify for CPAS assistance, keep school-supply receipts and prepare your identity card and school certificate before claiming up to €50 per child. Wherever your child attends a French-language school in Wallonia or Brussels, request the written estimate of charges before buying every item listed. If a school bill exceeds €50, ask for payment by instalments. Check the August payment from FAMIWAL, Famiris or your authorised family-allowance fund: the annual school-age supplement is normally included automatically with July allowances paid in August. Budget separately for computers, which are excluded from the cited average-cost estimates.
Impact
Regional — The direct intervention applies only in Ans, while the broader rules on school charges cover French-language schools in Wallonia and Brussels. Family-allowance administration differs between Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders.
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Voices & reactions
What the main actors are doing
Reported positions, summarised — not direct quotationsCPAS d’Ans and targeted-aid supporters
The municipal approach directs limited money towards RIS recipients who face the greatest immediate difficulty. It also reimburses several practical categories rather than assuming that notebooks alone define the cost of returning to school.
La Ligue des familles and universal-free-supplies advocates
Parent campaigners argue that small, age-based premiums and isolated municipal schemes cannot compensate for recurring school costs, especially in secondary and vocational education. They favour broader provision of supplies, equipment and transport.
Budget-constrained public authorities
Local and community authorities must balance school-cost support against wider welfare and education budgets. The Ans CPAS president has warned that growing financial pressure on welfare centres may make recurring discretionary assistance difficult.
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