2 Skint 4 School: time to end the classroom divide

Chicken and Egg: child poverty and education inequalities

Adding Up: The range and impact of school costs on families

2 Skint 4 School: time to end the classroom divide

Executive summary

Progress on child poverty appears to be faltering, and the educational gap is widening. Although the Government is focusing on education to reach its 2020 target to eradicate child poverty and expenditure on education has risen by more than 60 per cent in real terms since 1996–97, the gap between rich and poor pupils gets steadily wider as they progress through the education system.

Although this gap is in place well before a child reaches school-age and is inextricably linked to multiple socio-economic factors beyond the school gates, charging policies within schools are damaging children’s access to educational opportunities.

Exclusion from the system

• Selection. The UK has one of the closest associations between social class and educational performance in the OECD and one of the highest levels of social segregation in schools.
• Disadvantaged schools. Poor children are more likely to attend schools lacking in resources, but poor performance is more closely associated with low income than the quality of the schools.
• Complex funding streams. A failure to target resources effectively on poorer children is an ongoing problem.
• Targeted interventions. These can be effective, but may not reach the children who need it most.
• Truancy and exclusions. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are much more likely to be excluded, or to exclude themselves, from school.
• Outside the system. Children who face the greatest risk of poverty may end up out of education, employment and training altogether, sometimes when they are as young as 14.

Exclusion within the system

• School costs. Charging policies exclude poorer children from cultural, social and educational activities within schools.
• Access to the national curriculum. Costs deny access to the core curriculum – for example, the internet and revision guides – and to more creative activities – for example, music, art, photography and food technology.
• Poor nutrition. This affects children’s concentration, and yet, despite the extended school day, free school meals are often available only at lunchtime, and take-up is low. 
• Low expectations. Disadvantaged children tend to view schools as a punitive environment more than their more affluent peers.

Meanwhile, a great deal of education takes place outside of school. So, government policies which focus on benefit sanctions to improve ‘behaviours’ among disadvantaged groups are likely to increase child poverty and exacerbate educational inequalities. To reduce the educational gap, the Government needs to ensure that:

• Parents have a sufficient income to safeguard themselves and their children from the entrenched problems associated with living in poverty, irrespective of their work status;
• Children’s well-being is placed at the forefront of the Government’s childcare and educational reform programme;
• Charging policies reduce or eradicate educational costs for poor families;
• Nutrition is improved;
• Child poverty in the UK is placed on the curriculum for all teacher training courses.

Chicken and Egg: child poverty and education inequalities

Child poverty and unequal educational opportunities are inextricably linked. Children’s educational prospects reflect the disadvantages of their families. Those who are poor, whose parents have low qualifications and no or low-status jobs, who live in inadequate housing and in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, are less likely to gain good qualifications themselves at school. This briefing highlights the extent of the poverty gap in education and shows how the "chicken and egg" cycle of deprivation is perpetuated.

Adding up: The range and impact of school costs on families

The Government has a commitment to ending child poverty and improving educational attainment. For the vast majority of children, securing a decent education is a critical factor in determining success in adult life. Yet for a whole host of reasons, children from low income families are less likely to flourish at school. Research has found that for these children, their experiences of school can be divisive and contribute to exclusion.

In 2005 Citizens Advice, children’s charities, including CPAG, and the National Union of Teachers formed a coalition to continue to highlight the broader costs associated with attending school.

This briefing looks at:

• School uniform; the merits of school uniform, cost and affordability, supply arrangements, and what help is available.
• School trips; cost and affordability, voluntary contributions, and budgeting.
• Other costs associated with schooling such as text books and lesson materials.
• The impact of cost on parents; concerns about bullying and discipline, distress, worry and effect on choice of school.
• Good practice by schools.