Family incomes for education

Children do not leave social and economic inequality at the school gates - they bring them into the classroom. Being poor harms their wellbeing and limits their ability to learn. Poorer children are more likely to be tired, hungry and disengaged from the educational process. They often can’t afford to participate in social, sporting or creative activities in the wider community. The most effective way of targeting additional funds on disadvantaged children is to make sure families receive the money they need to keep their children out of poverty and to support their education.

Homes fit for learning

A cold, cramped home without a quiet warm place to study, without equipment like books or computers, damages children’s lives and educational experiences. Constant moves and temporary accommodation generate insecurity and stress. Homes fit for learning – and living – must be placed at the heart of the educational agenda.

Genuinely free education

Schools’ charging policies mean that a ‘free’ education can cost hundreds of pounds per child. Poor families may have to pay for school trips, music lessons or revision guides. Poor children in working families may not be entitled to free school meals. Poor children in non-working families may be excluded from childcare and extended school provision because their parents do not qualify for the childcare element of working tax credit. This damages child wellbeing, compromises teachers and compounds educational inequalities. The Government must ensure that all children access all aspects of the educational system; and schools must ensure children are not stigmatised or excluded from any school-based activities.

Support for teachers

The most committed teacher cannot compensate the poorest children for the ill health, poor housing, and lack of opportunities that blight their lives. The Government must address the causes of poverty and teachers need more support to help them cope with its consequences. Schools – and teacher training courses – must ensure that teachers have the skills, training and specialist support they need to cope with the diverse challenges associated with child poverty.

Good schools for all

Selection – and parental ‘choice’ – exclude poor children from ‘good’ schools. This may damage children’s educational experiences and aspirations in ‘disadvantaged’ schools. In the classroom, poor children’s needs may be sacrificed to the demands of league tables or parental choice. The Government must recognise that some of its policies are generating educational inequality, and others are proving ineffective. It must do more to ensure that all schools get the best out of all the children in their care. Reducing educational charges and providing universal free school meals will help make all schools more accessible learning environments.

A survey, which will be going live on this site very soon, will ask teachers and other educational practitioners about child poverty and its impact on children’s learning. For example, it will ask:

• do poor families need more money to support their children’s education?
• are Government educational initiatives designed to reduce child poverty helping or hindering children’s progress at school?
• do teachers get sufficient recognition, support and training to help them cope with diverse issues related to poverty in the classroom?
• is additional funding being effectively targeted to the schools and children who need it most?
• what more could be done to reduce the educational attainment gap and improve poor children’s experiences at school?

Information from the survey will inform a report to be published later in the year, which will consider the different ways in which child poverty impacts on disadvantaged children’s experience of the educational system.

To be notified when the survey is live, please sign up

As the campaign research progresses, we will be developing the key areas for action, drawing on the views and opinions of teachers, other educational practitioners and parents, to produce a set of policy calls for government, schools, local authorities and others involved in the education of our children.