Researchers have found that going to school in the UK costs families of primary school children at least £864.87 a year, or £18.69 a week. This is before childcare costs are accounted for. For families of secondary school children, the cost of sending a child to school is at least £1,755.97 a year.
School governors, head teachers, PTAs and others working in schools have written to the Chancellor urging him to increase child benefit and expand free school meals eligibility to reduce the impact of poverty and hardship on children and on schools. The open letter says schools increasingly see children finding it harder to learn because of inadequate family incomes.
Schools work really hard to provide enriching experiences for their pupils, from trips and clubs to leavers’ celebrations. However, parents and children have told us through our UK Cost of the School Day project that fun activities at school often have hidden and unrecognised costs. This can mean children from low-income families miss out.
What impact is the cost of living crisis having on families' abilities to keep warm this winter? Parents and carers on a low income who are part of Changing Realities have shared their experiences.
A family’s ability to get universal credit is often based not on their actual circumstances, but on a fictional version of their circumstances. Welfare rights worker Carri Swann explains.
At a time of sharply increasing costs and stretched family budgets, ensuring that children have all they need to take part in school is another worry for families. The guide will help schools consider how they’re already supporting families and how they can make small changes to policies, practices and communications to help families through times of economic difficulty.
It’s a relief that benefits and the benefit cap will rise with inflation. But this is only the fourth time benefits have risen by inflation in the last ten years and as a result of austerity - that today the chancellor praised - there are almost 4 million kids living in poverty in the UK. Today’s package will not stop the ice from cracking under struggling families.