Last week, the House of Commons’ Education Committee published a report on persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils. There is growing concern about rising levels of pupil absence following the pandemic. Attendance data highlights that children from lower-income households have lower attendance rates than their peers. Children eligible for free school meals are more than twice as likely as their peers to be persistently absent from school.
People working in schools witness the impact of poverty on children and families on a daily basis, and the scale and severity of the problem mean schools are reeling up against it. To understand exactly how child poverty affects the whole school system in England, the Education Anti-Poverty Coalition, convened by Child Poverty Action Group, has conducted a first-of-its-kind survey of professionals working in every role in schools in England.
First Minister is right to prioritise childcare, but more direct cash support still needed to meet child poverty targets say campaigners and “disappointment” at lack of further detail on First Minister’s commitment to increase Scottish child payment to £30.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s Programme for Government statement from the First Minister, John Dickie, Director of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said: “The First Minister has been right to say that tackling child poverty must be a top priority and his leadership campaign pledge to increase the Scottish child payment to £30 in his first budget was especially welcome. His first Programme for Government is his opportunity to show he will deliver on that promise. With low-income families still reeling under the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis there is not a moment to lose to turn his welcome words into concrete policies.”
Tackling child poverty in Scotland is a priority for the Scottish government, and the government's policies are working to reduce child poverty. However more needs to be done to ensure Scotland meets its legally binding child poverty targets. We have set out what the Scottish government's spending priorities should be to ensure child poverty targets are met.
There is only one part of the school day that is means-tested – lunchtime. We believe that all school children should be offered a balanced and filling school meal each day without cost. But a third of school-age children in England (900,000) living in poverty miss out on free school meals.
This briefing draws on our research with schools and families in London and makes suggestions for how schools can remove some of the barriers faced by secondary pupils in receipt of free shcool meals, and those in low-income families who do not currently qualify.