Almost nine in ten teachers say they have seen pupils show signs of tiredness or fatigue when in school because of poverty.
This rises to just over nine in ten deprived areas, according to the survey, of almost 15,000 teachers and school support staff carried out by the National Education Union (NEU) survey earlier this year.
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Two in five teachers say pupils are underdeveloped physically due to poverty, a proportion that increases to more than half among those working in areas of disadvantage.
Seven in 10 support staff and three in five teachers say they have seen signs of hunger among pupils.
Meanwhile, three in four school support staff report poverty-related poor hygiene among pupils.
Around seven in ten school staff are reporting pupils attending school in inadequate clothing or shoes and showing signs of hunger.
Almost three in five teachers say their school is supporting disadvantaged pupils with free breakfasts and more than a third say their school provides food banks or lunches beyond the Free School Meals allowance.
The NEU is calling for free school meals to be made available for all children, starting with primary schools.
“Every child regardless of their location should have the same levels of access in order that they can concentrate better at school and lead healthier lives,” said the union, which is urging the government to “urgently implement” a child poverty reduction strategy.
In the absence of universal support around two in three school leaders, two thirds of support staff and more than half of teachers are personally providing and paying for extra food for pupils
Three in four teachers say they are paying for learning supplies such as stationary out of their own pocket and three in ten support staff are providing families with help with uniforms.
“We have children we have to provide clothing to including shoes and clothes to preserve dignity. Many of our families use our in-school food bank and we as staff help to stock it,” said one survey respondent.
Another said: “We have a lot of children/families struggling with poverty who are working families not classed as pupil premium therefore do not qualify for free school meals/extra support etc. We support the children where we can at a cost to the school.”
The number of children living in poverty has increased by 200,000 to a record high of 4.5m, according to government figures released in March. The figures also revealed an increase in child poverty rates among working households, where at least one adult is in employment.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said “successive governments” have “failed to get to grips” with child poverty.
“It is profoundly worrying that in one of the richest countries in the world, we continue to expect schools to plug the gap. The reality is that child poverty is rising, not falling," he added.
