Even prior to lockdown, nearly one in eight families cut back on food and other essentials to meet the cost of school uniforms. This was just one of the findings from research published by the Children’s Society before the pandemic struck (2020).
This is hardly surprising given that more than four million children in the UK are living in the grip of poverty, holding them back in many aspects of their education and their life outside school (SecEd, 2020a).
The pandemic is likely to have made child poverty worse, when so many have seen their incomes decrease or have lost work entirely. Coupled with this, costly fuel bills during the winter and extra Christmas spending make this time of year especially difficult, and send many family budgets spinning out of control.
Register now, read forever
Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.
What's included:
-
Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast
-
New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday
Already have an account? Sign in here