A survey by the Education Anti-Poverty Coalition reveals that 79 per cent of teachers have had to take on extra poverty-mitigation tasks, including dealing with dinner money debt and sourcing food bank vouchers and home equipment for families.
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Almost nine in 10 per staff say child poverty in their school has increased over the last two academic years, with 68 per cent also reporting that there are more pupils who don’t have enough money for food at lunchtime.
Despite this, 51 per cent of staff say schools have less capacity to support struggling families and children, with employment cuts cited as one reason for this.
The survey was organised by the coalition, led by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). It represents the views of more than 1,000 school staff members working across schools.
The increase in child poverty has also had a large impact on student performance, it finds, with 74 per cent of staff saying that children growing up in poverty have fallen further behind their peers in learning, in part due to fewer families being able to pay for school equipment such as PE kits.
Kate Anstey, head of education policy at CPAG, said: “Staff want to focus on children’s development but get sidetracked by dinner money debt. They want the government to act and get more help to families.
“As urgent first steps, ministers must widen eligibility for free school meals, boost help with school-related costs and increase child benefit. That’s the minimum needed to give staff their time back and prevent millions of children from falling even further behind.”
The sector has called for action to mitigate the effects of poverty in schools.
A new survey finds child poverty is ripping through schools, harming children’s learning and consuming staff time. UNISON has joined with Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) calling on immediate action. Find out more here: https://t.co/49B2KZpRj8 pic.twitter.com/MwtU1FNY9F
— UNISON - UK's largest union (@unisontheunion) September 19, 2023
Deeply worrying findings published by @CPAGUK today, which reflect our previous research showing increasing numbers of pupils are coming to school hungry.
— The Sutton Trust (@suttontrust) September 19, 2023
Children cannot learn effectively in poverty - the government must take immediate action to tackle this issue. https://t.co/frlEj1uenu
The full report can be read here.
