Keep up the pressure to battle child poverty
Anne Longfield
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
In Britain today 3.9 million children are living in poverty. Often unable to afford adequate nutrition, these children frequently suffer from poor health and are highly vulnerable to illnesses. Children in the poorest families are more than twice as likely to die unexpectedly before their first birthdays. They are also less able to participate in school trips and sociable activities, which can leave them feeling isolated and excluded from school and community life.
The impact of child poverty also has serious long-term implications. With children growing up in poverty almost twice as likely to leave school without qualifications, they have significantly lower employment opportunities, leaving the cycle of poverty unbroken. In addition to this tragic waste of potential, the TUC estimates that child poverty costs the economy £40bn per year through loss of economic productivity and additional costs faced by the government in healthcare and increased crime.
Initiatives encouraging workless families back into employment or training and providing affordable childcare are crucial to achieving success. Children's centres are an ideal place to engage parents. At Palfrey Children's Centre in Walsall, mothers have been encouraged to engage through culturally sensitive outreach work and attend activity sessions. In conjunction with Jobcentre Plus, parents are then given help and support to identify and follow their career and training aspirations, from one-to-one discussions to open days where parents can meet training providers. The centre has also set up NVQ and English language courses at community venues where there has been high take-up among parents.
Poor nutrition is one of the serious health consequences of child poverty, which can lead to a range of deficiencies and illnesses as well as poor concentration and behaviour in schools. The Welsh Assembly Government's Primary School Free Breakfast Initiative has been designed to help tackle this problem. Initially piloted in the most deprived areas the scheme funds schools to run pre-school breakfast clubs and now has over 850 participating schools.
Such projects play a crucial role in helping to lift families out of poverty and limiting its most damaging effects. Some good progress is taking place but if the government is to reach its targets of halving child poverty by 2010 far more work is still needed. The End Child Poverty campaign group is holding a Keep the Promise rally on 4 October in Trafalgar Square from 1-3pm. It is an important and inspiring event so spread the word and we hope to see you there.
Anne Longfield is chief executive of 4Children.Email anne.longfield@haymarket.com.
