Young people fear wider gap between rich and poor, says children's commissioner
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Children living in poverty fear being bullied and priced out of catchment areas of good schools, a report for the children's commissioner has found.
Commissioned by Maggie Atkinson, the research conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) questioned 73 children and young people from four of the 10 most deprived authorities in England, on the impact of poverty.
While the children spoke of strong family and community relationships that can result from surviving financial struggles, they also expressed the adverse impact living in poverty can have on their education, employment and aspirations.
Young people said they believe that the gap is widening between rich and poor and voiced worries about the impact of scrapping the education maintenance allowance (EMA), increased tuition fees and transport costs.
Children also described bullying and the strain that living in poverty can place on family relationships.
Atkinson said: "Children and families in England are living in challenging economic times. Although many children in the UK are extremely fortunate, 2.8 million are living in poverty bought about by circumstances beyond their control.
"As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government has made binding commitments to provide all children and young people with a standard of living that is adequate for their physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. We cannot turn away from these promises."
The Office of the Children's Commissioner is now calling on the government to tackle inequalities by subsidising transport costs for young people who struggle to access places of education, services or work; improve access to youth services; and ensure education providers and companies provide financial education and better job and training opportunities to children and young people.
The children's views from the report have been submitted to the government and will influence the Child Poverty Strategy due to be published imminently.
While the children spoke of strong family and community relationships that can result from surviving financial struggles, they also expressed the adverse impact living in poverty can have on their education, employment and aspirations.
Young people said they believe that the gap is widening between rich and poor and voiced worries about the impact of scrapping the education maintenance allowance (EMA), increased tuition fees and transport costs.
Children also described bullying and the strain that living in poverty can place on family relationships.
Atkinson said: "Children and families in England are living in challenging economic times. Although many children in the UK are extremely fortunate, 2.8 million are living in poverty bought about by circumstances beyond their control.
"As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government has made binding commitments to provide all children and young people with a standard of living that is adequate for their physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. We cannot turn away from these promises."
The Office of the Children's Commissioner is now calling on the government to tackle inequalities by subsidising transport costs for young people who struggle to access places of education, services or work; improve access to youth services; and ensure education providers and companies provide financial education and better job and training opportunities to children and young people.
The children's views from the report have been submitted to the government and will influence the Child Poverty Strategy due to be published imminently.
