Child poverty: 'Schools are becoming the fourth emergency service for families in crisis'
Alongside their day jobs in the classroom, more teachers across the UK are acting as welfare advisers, housing officers, and social workers, ITV News' Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker explains.
More than four million children were living in poverty in the UK in 2023, an increase of 100,000 on the previous year.
Yet, how to tackle child poverty and help those living in the most deprived communities has barely featured in this election campaign, angering education unions, headteachers, and charities.
On the edge of a noisy playground at Pennyman Primary Academy, in Middlesbrough, two parents run a discounted food shop.
A picnic table doubles as their makeshift counter and is filled with fresh fruit and vegetables as well as long-life staples such as porridge, pasta, and tinned soup.
"It’s ridiculous, so many people out there are really struggling," Lisa told me.
“The government is letting families down with the cost of living. It’s shocking,” she said.
Parents can buy 10 items for £2 from their stall, "way cheaper than the shops and it means they don’t have to skip meals."
When the conversation turns to politics, the mood shifts. Political promises that things will get better ring hollow.
“They only tell you what they want you to hear - kids going hungry, they don’t want to talk about, it doesn’t win them votes - none of the political parties do anything.
"Labour are supposed to be the people, but they aren’t,” Lisa said increasingly exasperated.
Schools are stepping in like never before to help pupils and their parents as the support goes well beyond the classroom.
A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found a third of schools had set up food banks to provide emergency supplies to hungry families, while in Middlesbrough 41% of children are living below the poverty line.
From washing machines to Christmas presents Louise Stogdale, Headteacher at Pennyman Primary Academy, explains how the school helps its pupil's parents
Louise Stogdale, headteacher at Pennyman Primary Academy, explained how the school worked in partnership with local charities to make sure their families have the basics and don’t go hungry.
She said: “We’ve provided gas and electricity vouchers, food hampers, done weekly loads of washing for our families. We give out toiletries like shampoo and toothpaste.
"If they haven’t got white goods like fridge freezers, we help to get those delivered.”
At Pennyman Primary Academy, 72% of students are on free school meals, almost three times the national average.
“In some ways schools are becoming the fourth emergency service, helping those at crisis point, with nowhere to turn,” said Mrs Stogdale.
Alongside their day jobs in the classroom, more teachers across the UK are acting as welfare advisers, housing officers, and social workers.
When asked whether all of this support should fall on schools with already stretched budgets, Mrs Stogdale admitted: "Yes we are put in some very difficult situations, but if we don’t do it who will?"
The Tees Valley Education Trust, which runs five schools, including Pennyman, is devoting more time and resources towards feeding and clothing children.
The school literally saved Josh Luck’s life.
When Mr Luck, who is diabetic, became a single dad of two and later lost his job, the school helped him to fill out forms to claim universal credit, provided food and clothing and regularly made home visits.
Father Josh Luck explains how Pennyman Primary School saved his life
One day the headteacher found him unresponsive in bed and raised the alarm.
“I just couldn’t wake up the next day, I was exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally and the next thing I knew there were strangers stood over my bed and police were there,” he told ITV News.
“My son had told the school ‘daddy won’t wake up’, he was really brave.”
He told me how financial challenges have escalated since he lost his job as a support worker nine months ago.
He said: “I’ve had to skip meals, as I don’t want to take anything away from the kids. Before this, I had a good job.
“If I’m too unwell to get the kids to school, the staff will come and collect them. I am so grateful.”
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho said: "We're thinking about the taxpayers and if we've got a fair system where people are balancing what we can do on welfare.
"We have made the welfare system more generous, but also making sure we're keeping taxes low for people."
'We're making sure we're keeping taxes low for people' says Claire Coutinho
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting said: " We've committed to a cross-government strategy to cut child poverty in the way the last Labour government did lifting a million children out of poverty.
"There are so many policies in that manifesto, from free primary school breakfast clubs so that children start the day with hungry minds, not hungry bellies.
"But it's so important that in our manifesto the promises we made were promises we could keep and the country can afford."
'It's so important the promises we made were promises we could keep and the country can afford' says Wes Streeting
Charities have warned schools are in danger of being ‘overwhelmed’ by an increasing level of need.
Anti-poverty campaigners have long argued one measure that would lift thousands of children out of poverty would be the abolition of the two child benefit limit.
The cap was introduced in 2017 by the Conservatives and it restricts child benefits for the first two children in most households.
Nine-month-old Isaac is among the two million children affected by the policy.
His mother Thea Jaffe described how tough life is for the family; rent is expensive, childcare costs are high and the cost of living crisis has put additional pressure on overstretched finances.
The policy means she loses out on around £250 a month in child benefit for Isaac.
'How about sending a message saying we're going to support you, you're doing a good job and we're going to help you do a good job,' says Thea Jaffe
Ms Jaffe was earning around £43,000 a year and never imagined she’d be struggling so much. When she didn’t qualify for statutory maternity pay, she had to go on Universal Credit, but said it wasn’t enough to survive on.
As a last resort, she turned to a baby bank called Little Village in Camden for the essentials including a cot, nappies, clothing, and toys.
Ms Jaffe said: “There’s a lot of criticism of people for having children so it was nice to feel supported. I feel judged and there’s a lot of shaming in the media about single mums or mums who are doing things differently.
"It’s easy to say ‘don’t have children’ or have a termination but I believe women should be able to have a choice and make their own decisions.”
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What is each party's policy on the two-child benefit limit?
Scrapping the two-child limit is not mentioned in either the Tory or Labour manifestos, although when pressed on the issue, Sir Keir Starmer said he could not commit to ending the policy due to "tough financial decisions" for his party if they win the election.
In contrast, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have both pledged to abolish the cap.
Conservatives
Child benefit - plans to raise the threshold at which families pay the Child Benefit Tax Charge from £60,000 to £120,000
Moving to a household rather than an individual basis for Child Benefit
Labour
Free primary school breakfast clubs for all children
End mass dependence on emergency food parcels
Review of universal credit
Lib Dems
Abolish two-child benefit limit
Free school meals for 900,000 more children living in poverty
Bring back maintenance grants for disadvantaged students
Green
Abolish the two-child benefit limit, ‘lifting 250,000 children out of poverty’
Breakfast clubs for all primary school children, and free school lunches for all school children in primary and secondary schools
SNP
Reverse all Tory welfare cuts , including the two-child cap
The SNP is calling for the UK government to match the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide, which would provide low-income families with an additional £26.70 per child per week
Reform
Representatives from Reform UK told ITV News its policy was to abolish the two-child benefit limit
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