*UNDER CONSTRUCTION* Signal-boosting #ToryBritain truths to the nation. Helping YOU be part of the fightback.
From Welfare Weekly: Teachers have painted a stark picture on the growing levels of child poverty, with many forced to step in to assist struggling parents in the wake of endless austerity measures.
A National Education Union poll of 1,026 teachers in England has exposed the day to day struggles of low-income families, as an estimated 4.5 million school age children are said to be trapped below the poverty line.
From The Children’s Society: We know that poverty has a devastating impact on children’s lives.
It can lead to children missing out on decent meals, sleeping in cold bedrooms and being bullied at school, as well as drastically reducing their future life chances.
Children living in poverty are more likely to:
– Have poor physical health
– Experience mental health problems
– Have a low sense of well-being
– Underachieve at school
– Have employment difficulties in adult life
– Experience social deprivation
– Feel unsafe
– Experience stigma and bullying at school.
Children living in poverty are more likely to feel like a failure, and have a sense of hopeless about their future than their more affluent peers. And they have a more significant risk of developing mental health problems.
From The Independent: Health experts have warned of the return of Victorian scourges such as rickets and stunted growth due to child food poverty and malnutrition.
Teachers have reported “heartbreaking” increases in the numbers of poor children at primary schools going hungry.
Over half of surveyed teachers have children in their school who go hungry during school holidays, when no school meals are available. Most of those teachers also see children arrive at school hungry. Substantial numbers of teachers also report seeing children return from school holidays with signs of malnourishment.
One teacher said: “In addition to holiday hunger I have families who cannot cook a meal because their oven is broken and they cannot afford to get it repaired. I have families with disabled children who cannot easily leave the house and shop for affordable healthy food because it is too difficult and they have no help.”
Another teacher said: “It’s heart-breaking to hear children not wanting holidays because they don’t get to eat enough.”