Hungry children 'stuff school food in their pockets in case they don't get another meal'

Children are turning up at school with grey skin and stuffing food in their pockets fearing they won’t get another meal, as teachers warn of 'heartbreaking' rise of child poverty.

Schools are having to provide essentials to stop poor families falling through the cracks.

They say poverty is damaging children’s education and describe the daily critical situation of poor pupils as “heartbreaking.”

School leaders described how children are turning up at the school gates showing visible signs of poverty, such as grey skin and poor teeth, hair and nails.

A head from a primary school in Cumbria, said she was aware of pupils putting “food in their pockets to take home because they’re not sure if they’re going to get another meal that day”.

“In some establishments I would imagine that would be called stealing, but in ours it’s called survival,” she said.

Children wearing worn-out shoes and unable to do homework because they have no stationery are common problems.

But many poor youngsters are arriving at school hungry, tired and suffering ill-health as well as lacking appropriate clothes such as coats and jumpers.

One teacher said:”It breaks my heart every day to see kids needy in so many different ways.”

A snapshot survey of 900 heads, teachers and school support staff of the National Education Union (NEU) reveals the shocking extent of poverty blighting children’s futures.

Nearly nine out of ten (87%) say that poverty is having a significant impact on the learning of their pupils and 60% believe that the situation has worsened since 2015.

Worryingly, of these a third (33%) think it has worsened significantly.

One teacher said: “The school collects for the food bank in the staffroom. But this is a big problem and it breaks my heart.”

Louise Regan, from a Nottinghamshire primary school said she noticed a difference when taking pupils to sporting events with other schools.

“You think ‘our kids are really small’, you don’t notice it because you’re with them all the time. When you then see them with children of the same age that are in an affluent area, they just look tiny.”

Jane Jenkins, from a Cardiff primary school said that children have turned up with just a slice of bread and margarine in their lunchbox, adding that the school supplements lunches, and frequently gives out fruit from the fruit tuck box if they cannot afford the 20p to buy it.”

In 2015/16, there were four million children in the UK living in poverty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) - equivalent to nine in every classroom of 30 pupils.

The joint survey by the NEU and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) also reveals the extent to which schools are stepping in to fill the gaps left by government cuts.

Schools have become a lifeline for poor families byproviding the daily essentials - such as food, clothing and even, in a small number of cases, emergency loans - for families with nowhere else to go for help.

They are also subsiding breakfast clubs, enrichment activities and equipment for courses at secondary level to ensure no child loses out because they are poor.

One teacher told the NEU: “Teachers will go the extra mile to provide learners with what they need.”

The survey also reveals that cuts to school budgets are undermining the support schools can provide

One NEU member said: “We heavily subsidised trips and clubs. However we are unable to continue doing this due to our budget which is a real shame for our pupils.”

Individual teachers, school leaders and teaching assistants say they are providing a range of essential items for their pupils and students, including food, books, stationery, PE kit, uniform, sanitary protection, personal hygiene products and transport costs.

Schools are increasingly stepping in to fill the poverty gap with almost half of those surveyed stating that their school directly provides one or more of a range of anti-poverty services.

Almost one in five (18%) say their school runs a low cost food club; 13% report that their schools runs a free food bank; 16% say their school offers free or subsidised family meals; 16% say they have a clothing bank; and in a small number of cases (4%), say their school provides emergency loans to families.

Schools are also supporting low-income families by fully funding or subsidising participation by poorer pupils/students in activities such as school trips, extra-curricular activities and sports teams or clubs.

On at least a termly basis, over half of those surveyed (53%) say they personally provide school equipment such as books and stationery; over a third say they provide food; more than a fifth are supplying PE or sports kit; 14% donate toys and play things; 10% provide sanitary protection; 10% provide other hygiene products; and 8% help with travel costs. Many are doing so at least once a week.

Kevin Courtney, joint General Secretary of the NEU said:“The level of child poverty teachers and school staff are witnessing on a daily basis is having a dreadful effect on the life chances and education of far too many children and young people.

“It is shocking that in one of the richest countries in the world we have children without appropriate clothes or shoes, who go hungry every day, who cannot afford sanitary protection or who have no stationery to do their homework.

“As the survey demonstrates, schools will always do whatever they can to help families who are struggling, including running food banks in schools or staff spending their own money to feed children. But this should not be happening.

“Schools cannot be expected to provide sticking plaster solutions to a problem of the Governments making. It is a scandal that 4.1 million children (30%) now live below the official poverty line, after housing costs.

“Our Government cannot continue to preside over such inequality and misery.”

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, which co-sponsored the NEU survey, said: “Teachers see the heart-breaking reality of rising child poverty every day in their classrooms and dinner halls.

“We must listen to what they are telling us. With nine children in every classroom of 30 now falling below the official poverty line, it is time to ensure all families have enough to live on, and to rebuild the safety net for struggling parents.

“A vital first step is to lift the freeze on children’s benefits so that they keep up with the rising cost of living.”