Voice network members help to launch new schools anti-poverty guidance

This week, Cost of the School Day Voice network members from Trinity High School in Rutherglen took part in the launch of Standing Up To Poverty, Anti-Poverty Advice for the Classroom from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), Scotland's largest teaching union.

Standing Up To Poverty offers advice and insights from teachers on mitigating the impact of poverty on children and young people’s education.

Sharing their experience

Brooke, Ryan, Zoe and Liam from Trinity High School's Cost of the School Day pupil group have been working to reduce the financial barriers to education in their setting. They were invited along to share their experiences at the Standing Up To Poverty launch event which drew teaching staff from around the country. 

They spoke alongside teachers, EIS officials and academics, and offered their views on why reducing school costs and involving children and young people is so vital. They also introduced clips from the Cost of the School Day Big Question film.  

Why this is important

Ryan reflected on the key issue: “tackling poverty in the classroom is really important because no child should feel ashamed or embarrassed about poverty and speaking about this.” 

Zoe spoke about what can happen if young people feel this way, saying that attendance can suffer and this means children and young people: “miss out on great opportunities, and take a big hit on their mental health by missing out on social interaction and new activities. It can isolate them from their peers which leads to more issues.”

Much of the work done at Trinity High School is echoed in the advice given in Standing Up To Poverty. Brooke explained how decisions in their school are informed by pupil consultations: "Lots of people in our school had brought up the cost of school lunches as an issue, so we formed a focus group to discuss this. We tried to ask the government for free school meals, but until this happens, we wanted to do something about the food in our school.” 

Liam said that: “Our pupil focus groups have really drilled down into issues, and in particular how to communicate best with the pupils and the families about the support we’ve actually got in place at the school and at council level.”

Getting everyone involved

EIS president Allan Crosbie reminded the meeting that while this refreshed guidance is being published just before Challenge Poverty Week, “we are of course committed to challenging poverty every day, not just for one week.” He closed the meeting with a call for members to take away 'Standing Up To Poverty', use it and get involved. 

How it felt to represent the Voice network

After the launch the Trinity High School group reflected on what it had been like to take part in the launch. Zoe said: “I think it felt really good to actually speak about young people as young people. Speaking about it was actually quite an honour.” Brooke thought, “learning about it over the last year has been good and it was really good to talk about it.”

Standing Up To Poverty, Anti-Poverty Advice for the Classroom is available online.