More than half of senior school leaders are reporting growing numbers of pupils being unable to afford to eat in school, according to new research.
In a survey of 6,200 teachers in schools across England commissioned by The Sutton Trust, 52 per cent of senior leaders said they had seen a rise in pupils being unable to afford lunch when they are not eligible for free school meals. This figure rises to 59 per cent for heads in the most deprived areas.
Nearly four in 10 heads also reported more pupils coming to school hungry (38 per cent) and the same proportion said that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting the attainment of at least one-third of their students, rising to 72 per cent for senior leaders in the most deprived areas.
More than four in 10 (43 per cent) of teachers in the North West, Yorkshire and the North East said that more than one-third of their pupils are struggling, compared with under one-third (27 per cent) in the South East.
The impact of the cost-of-living crisis is also evident, the majority of heads said, in student behaviour. Three-quarters (74 per cent) of teachers said they have seen an increase in pupils being unable to concentrate or being tired in class. Over half (54 per cent), meanwhile, have seen an increase in pupils coming to school without adequate winter clothing.
The survey shows marked differences between the experiences of teachers in schools in the most deprived areas and those in the most affluent areas, with particular discrepancies around some of the more serious issues.
Pupils can’t buy school dinners in cost-of-living crisis
Over half of teachers (56 per cent) in the most deprived areas have seen more children coming to school hungry against less than one-quarter (22 per cent) in the most affluent areas.
Nearly three in 10 have been approached by families for food bank referral (27 per cent) in the most deprived areas, against just 8 per cent in the most affluent areas.
Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of both The Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation, said the findings were “stark and shaming”.
“It’s a scandal that in one of the world’s richest countries growing numbers of children are going without basics such as food and warm clothing,” he said.
“Without radical intervention and increased provision for those who need it most, the cost-of-living crisis will produce a decline in social mobility, gravely endangering the long-cherished project of levelling up.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, added: “Schools desperately need the government to do more to help these young people and their families.
“Sustained long-term action and investment is required, but an important step that the government can and should take right now is to extend the eligibility of free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit.”
Despite recent calls on the government from former ministers and teaching unions for an extension of free school meals - and support from two-thirds of MPs - access remains capped.
Currently, universal free school meals are available for all government-funded schools for pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, but this is not the case for those in the later years of primary school.
Beyond this, free meals are available to those on various benefits, but for those on universal credit, the pupil’s household must have an income of less than £7,400 a year.
In October a letter signed by 12 organisations - including all four main teaching unions in England, and the sector bodies for school trusts, governors and business leaders - warned the prime miniser that not extending free school meal eligibility “undermined” the education workforce.
The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
