Child Poverty

[JIM CURRAN]

Child poverty is destroying the myth that Britain is a meritocracy

A survey by the National Education Union (NEU) this week found nine out of 10 school staff believe poverty is having “a detrimental effect” on their pupils’ education. Teachers described it in harrowing detail. Children with no space to do homework in their overcrowded home, or falling asleep in lessons because they can’t get a good night’s sleep. Some pupils were missing out on school entirely: they couldn’t afford a PE kit or even a ruler, and were too ashamed to turn up without them. Many staff reported seeing children struggling to concentrate in class simply because they were hungry. “I try to teach my phonics group as I am giving others cereal to eat,” one teacher said.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -education