Students in families that used food banks during the pandemic scored almost half a GCSE grade lower per subject on average.

Furthermore, 1 in 10 young people were living in food insecure households during Covid, while a third of young people in families using food banks during the pandemic were not eligible for free school meals (FSMs).

The findings come from the on-going COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study. They reveal a concerning – but sadly not surprising – link between food insecurity, mental health, and GCSE grades, heightening fears about the extent of the long-term impact of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis on young people.

The new paper – entitled Financial inequalities and the pandemic (Cullinane et al, 2023) – finds that 81% of parents who report financial struggles – and 54% of young people – are at high risk of psychological distress.

Indeed, parents reporting financial struggles are four times as likely to have poor mental health than those living comfortably.

The COSMO study is led by the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, and the Sutton Trust and is tracking the lives of 13,000 young people in years 12 and 13 England who are taking A level and other qualifications in 2023.

Last year COSMOS reported that almost half of this cohort are above the threshold for “probable mental ill health” and one in five has self-harmed.

The new study finds that rates of poor mental health were particularly high for those whose family’s financial situation worsened during the pandemic.

It found that 63% of parents and 53% of young people who started using foodbanks during the pandemic reported poor mental health.

SecEd has long been reporting on food insecurity and food poverty and the study raises significant concerns over these issues. It finds that food poverty hit many families during the pandemic.

Indeed, it warns that 1 in 10 young people were living in households classed as food insecure, with many reporting running out of food and skipping meals – 5% of parents reported going an entire day without eating.Rates of food insecurity were highest in the North East and North West.

Concerningly, it reports that 57% of households in the study where young people went hungry were not eligible for FSMs, while 36% of young people using foodbanks were not eligible either.

The authors of the study said that this fact “raises questions of whether eligibility is set at the right level, especially as food costs have risen”.

And unsurprisingly, all of this is having an impact on young people’s education. The research finds that food poverty and hunger are linked with lower GCSE attainment.

Pupils in families who reported using food banks received half a GCSE grade per subject on average than they would have been expected to. Students in the COSMOS cohort took their GCSEs during the pandemic but did not sit physical examinations, instead being awarded their qualifications under the system of teacher assessed grades.

What is more, students from families with high food bank usage and financial difficulties were also more likely to feel they had fallen behind in their studies during the pandemic.

The report suggests that addressing food poverty could be a key lever for closing educational gaps post-Covid.

It states: “Evidence from the Sutton Trust has shown the impact that the cost of living crisis is having in schools, with higher rates of poor behaviour, inattention, pupils not having adequate winter clothing and coming to school hungry. With attainment gaps having widened at all ages of school since the outset of the pandemic, wiping out a decade of progress, tackling food poverty could be crucial to addressing these gaps.”

The report comes after the number of children living in poverty in the UK has risen to 4.2 million, with figures showing that 30% of families on Universal Credit are food insecure (for more, read our report here).

Campaigners continue the push for FSMs to be made available to all children on Universal Credit. Currently 1.7 million children in this cohort remain ineligible for FSMs.

Dr Jake Anders, associate professor and deputy director of the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities and COSMO’s principal investigator, added: “The mental health and life chances of young people and their parents are being dramatically affected by post-pandemic cost of living pressures. And these impacts are likely to be long-lasting, given the seeming link between food insecurity and performance in exams.

“That so many are food insecure but would not be considered eligible for FSMs under current rules suggests that the eligibility criteria are in need of urgent review. No young people should be going hungry, especially if this has the potential for serious long-term impacts.”

Commenting on the findings, Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said that schools witness daily the impact of child poverty on educational attainment.

She continued: “It’s reflected not just in grades but also in the pupils coming to school hungry, those battling mental health issues and the families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

“Schools do their best to help all pupils succeed, irrespective of their background, but they are fighting against entrenched inequalities. Our severely underfunded children’s services are unable to cope with spiralling demand, leaving schools to paper over the cracks.”

Ms McCulloch called for funding for increased pastoral care in schools and for external mental health support as well as widening FSMs to include all families in receipt of Universal Credit.

She added: “Ultimately, the government has to make the widespread investment required to tackle the root causes of poverty. It is morally indefensible, in what is still one of the richest countries in the world, for family income to play such a large part in dictating a pupil’s attainment at school, and for so many families to be living without basic necessities. Sadly, that is the reality we face.”