To understand how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted children’s experience of learning, we conducted some research through surveys and interviews. We gathered the experiences of 3,600 parents and carers, along with 1,300 children and young people, with an emphasis on the experiences of low-income households. We found that the cost burdens of school closures have fallen most heavily on families already living on a low income.
Every child should be able to make the most of their time at school, but we know that the cost of school can put pressure on low-income families and put some children at risk of missing out on opportunities and feeling different and stigmatised. CPAG’s Cost of the School Day project in Scotland is working with schools and local authorities to understand the barriers that costs create for children from low-income families, and to support policy and practice change to reduce or remove them. With the project set to be introduced in England and Wales, and expanded in Scotland, what can be learned from the last six years.
Consultation with pupils and parents in Dundee schools highlights financial barriers to participation for pupils from low-income households and good practice in overcoming them.
This report presents qualitative data from eight Glasgow Primary and Secondary schools in areas of varying levels of deprivation. In total, 339 children and young people between Primary 5 and S6 and 111 staff members shared their views, experiences and ideas in workshop sessions and focus groups.
Talking about costs and money with parents and carers can feel difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. This resource is full of insights from parents and carers about how schools can communicate with them about costs, make them aware of the entitlements for school age children, and how to make sure families feel comfortable enough to open up when there are financial problems at home.
Understanding the challenges facing families on low incomes supports greater empathy and engagement. Promoting awareness and understanding of the challenges facing families on low incomes to everyone in your school community will help boost that knowledge.
Parents say they feel frustrated and unseen when their schools aren’t mindful of financial pressures. A proactive approach tells parents that their school understands financial challenges and that conversations about costs and money are possible and welcomed.
It doesn’t matter how affluent a school community appears, families can be struggling financially and could benefit from entitlements and help at school. To make sure families don't miss out, good communication is key.
As a way of helping to boost family incomes and reduce the impact of child poverty, school communities are increasingly offering referral pathways to welfare and money advice for families. This briefing offers examples of existing pathways and makes recommendations about how we can make sure more families are able to access help in this way.
Cost of the School Day Voice network members Summer and Brooke from Ardrossan Academy and Cathy and Leland from Newton Primary school took part in a Scottish Parliament roundtable about universal free school meals. Organised by Monica Lennon MSP in collaboration with the STUC Women’s Committee and the Sunday Mail as part of the Food for Thought campaign, the learners got the chance to tell decision makers, including Jenny Gilruth, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, what they thought about universal free school meal provision and what needs to happen next.
East Ayrshire Council decided to commit funding to extend their Financial Inclusion Team and place workers in every secondary school in the authority, focusing on maximising family incomes, making sure families are receiving all the benefits and entitlements they’re eligible for. Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland worked with the financial inclusion team to deliver child poverty and rights sessions to 70 learners, helping to raise awareness of the causes of poverty in Scotland, the impact poverty can have on children’s rights and cost barriers families and pupil face at school.
