More than 200 children in Bradford receive a bed in time for Christmas

• Hannah Norbury went out with the charity on one of their first deliveries to Bradford, as part of their 2023 Christmas appeal.

Christmas is a time for giving, and one Leeds based charity is doing all they can to make sure children wake up from a good night sleep, with a smile on their face this Christmas day.

Zarach was set up by a primary school teacher to tackle so-called bed poverty in 2018.

This year they're hoping to deliver 500 beds nationally to children before the 25th December. This is ten times more beds than their Christmas appeal in 2021, where they aimed to give out 50 beds.

Mark Cohen from the charity said: "It's sad that we are needed in the first place.

"In the country that we live in, we shouldn't be in a position where children don't have a bed to sleep in, but it's good that we are here to help those that we can.

"There is a lot more need out there, I think the pandemic followed by the cost of living crisis is having an impact and we are going more national now."

In just nine days the charity had delivered 267 beds, meaning they are well on track to exceed their original target of 500.

The Christmas appeal coincides with the charities first deliveries to children in Bradford.

Since the start of the month, Zarach has received almost 220 referrals for children in the district.

A recent study published by End Child Poverty suggests that two in five children in Bradford are living in deprivation, in an area that has the highest rates of child poverty across the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber.

Bex Wilson, who founded the charity, said: "One in seven children nationally don't have their own, and if that figure is true in Bradford, we are going to need a lot of beds."

The referrals are made through schools, who play a vital role in spotting signs of child bed poverty.

In Bradford, Zarach is working with Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, to make sure children are getting the referral they need.

The head of safeguarding at the trust, James Clarke, said: "We aren't complacent to think it can't happen to any family at any time, because things happen in people's lives that can have an impact on them.

"There is statistical data that would show some schools are in more deprive postcodes than others, but our commitment is to all of our pupils, regardless of which school they attend."

Gillian Wilson, headteacher of St Oswald’s C of E Primary School, said: "It makes me feel really sad, we know ourselves as adults you need a really good nights sleep to be able to focus the following the day."

A government spokesperson said: "There are 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty than in 2010, including 400,000 fewer children, but we know some families are struggling, which is why we are providing support worth around £3,700 per household on average.

"People on benefits are receiving up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments – £299 of which is being delivered to around eight million households from February 6 – and the Household Support Fund is providing an extra layer of local support for people struggling with the cost of essential items like furniture, energy and food."

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