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ADCS president: Time to tackle child poverty

2 mins read The ADCS Blog
One of my main priorities as ADCS president is to put a larger spotlight on the dangerous levels of poverty we see in our society and the direct impact this has on children’s outcomes.
John Pearce is the current ADCS president. Picture: ADCS
John Pearce is the current ADCS president. Picture: ADCS

National child poverty figures rooted in government data sadly show progress has been going in the wrong direction in recent years, but perhaps more slowly than our day-to-day experiences would suggest.

There is no universally agreed upon measure of poverty and no single or common set of indicators to measure it in this country; that is to say for England, not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, who are taking action here.

In children’s services, the number of local free school meal (FSM) claims can be used as a basic proxy for family distress and levels of need in our communities. FSM claims increased rapidly during the pandemic and this pattern continues to this day, with official data showing claims at the highest ever rate despite gaps in eligibility highlighted during Covid-19.

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