The poll of 2,000 parents of school-aged children living on the lowest incomes also found they spend on average £2,000-per-year on school costs
One in ten parents living in poverty say their children have been bullied for being poor, grim new research shows today.
The poll of 2,000 parents of school-aged children living on the lowest incomes also found they spend on average £2,000-per-year on school costs. Almost a quarter (23%) reported getting into debt to cover costs such as transport and school trips.
The Censuswide survey carried out for Parentkind found 10% of parents said their children had experienced bullying as a result of the family’s financial situation. The charity said this was equivalent to over half a million children.
The survey also found one in eight parents living in poverty had received food parcels from their children’s school. A further 8% said their children had gone to school in dirty clothes because they could not afford to wash their school uniform.
Parentkind described the results of its polling as “shocking” in showing the costs of schooling for families. They have sent their report to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall ahead of the publication of the Government’s child poverty strategy later in the spring.
It is warning a target must be set to reduce school costs for the poorest parents.
Parentkind Chief Executive, Jason Elsom said: “This polling is shocking and shows that school is not free. Parents living in poverty are spending huge amounts of what little money they have on sending their children to school. That can’t be right.
“We need the government to urgently start talking about parents in poverty alongside child poverty plans to make sure we support these parents.”
READ MORE: Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned families will be £1,400 worse off in grim analysis
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), added: “With nine children in every class of 30 growing up in poverty, teachers and school leaders see the very real impact this has on our children and young people.
“This report highlights how many families across Britain are struggling with everyday costs – and the devastating impact this is having on the mental wellbeing of both children and their parents.”
He said the upcoming child poverty strategy – expected to be published in the spring – is a “huge opportunity for the government to act”.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We are determined to tackle the scourge of child poverty and break the unfair link between background and opportunity – and have already taken wide-ranging action despite this government’s incredibly challenging fiscal inheritance.
“The first 750 schools will begin offering free breakfast clubs from April, backed by over £30 million, and we are capping the number of branded school uniform items to keep the costs down for parents. More widely we have increased pupil premium funding to over £2.9 billion for the FY 24-25, and the Child Poverty Taskforce is working to deliver an ambitious strategy to tackle challenges felt by those living in poverty.”
READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster
