Six months ago, a member of staff on lunchtime duty told me she’d seen a child stealing from other children’s plates and asking people to buy him food. 

I investigated and discovered that this child had not had any money added to his school lunch account for over half a year.

He was a child, living in poverty, who does not qualify for free school meals.

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The shocking truth is that children are only eligible for the government’s free school meals grant if their family income is less than a paltry £7,400 per year (a staggeringly low sum anywhere in the country, but in London it’s even more challenging). 

This rules out so many children who desperately need to be fed, including those who come from families whose immigration status means that they have no recourse to public funds. 

As a head, I often use our pupil premium and hardship funds to buy our children school uniform, shoes and basic necessities. As a school, we have to make tough decisions.

More and more time is being spent by members of staff researching access to grants, deals, donations and food banks (we are now authorised suppliers of food bank vouchers to our families, some of whom are homeless). 

Far too many members of staff dip into their own pockets to feed and clothe our children or to buy a cake and card for a child whose birthday celebration is not the priority for a family struggling to make ends meet.

Early arrivals

We are extremely grateful that we are part of the Magic Breakfast scheme and that we’re able to give our children a free meal every morning. Many students come to school at 7am to ensure that they have time to sit down, eat and start the day without the pain of hunger. 

We are aware, however, that others miss out; those who have the responsibility of getting their younger siblings ready, young carers and those who live in disorganised, overcrowded homes where just getting dressed and washed in the morning can be a challenge. 

Our reception and office staff are always on the lookout for children arriving late and hungry and will pass them a cereal bar on the way to class. At lunchtime, our staff receive a free meal in exchange for doing a duty, and they often pass that meal on to a child who has no money on their account.

We also make a point of seeking as many additional opportunities for our children as possible, from trips abroad to speakers and workshops. We do not charge for any of these. It takes an enormous amount of time on our part to seek out and fund these activities, but we will never ask students for financial contributions.

We have all worked in schools where the mantra is that no child will not attend a trip based on not being able to afford it - but how many children will put their hands up and come forward, admitting to living in poverty? 

A brighter future

We are acutely aware of the challenging circumstances that the overwhelming majority of our children live in daily, from homelessness, temporary housing, overcrowding, inadequate housing (rotting, mouldy rooms without electricity or proper heating) and much, much more. 

We are aware of our responsibility to shine a light on the possibilities of a brighter future, to raise aspirations and to inspire, both inside and outside the classroom and certainly far, far beyond the scope of the national curriculum. 

Our staff offer more than 80 extracurricular clubs, completely voluntarily. These offer opportunities to find a passion, socialise, keep fit and, in some cases, stay safe and escape an overcrowded home for a few more hours each day.

The knock-on impact of poverty is far more insidious. Knife and gun crime, gangs and violence cast a shadow over our community, over the lives of our families and, of course, over the lives of our children.

No headteacher wants to be visiting one of their children in a hospital bed, another victim of a brutal stabbing. Yet this is my reality.

As a school, we are given the responsibility and joy of shaping the lives of children so that they can leave us, knowledgeable, kind, compassionate and engaged global citizens. But we are being overtaken by trying desperately to keep them safe for one more term, one more month, one more day. 

These are children who have been failed by the system, victims of a decade of austerity, decimated youth services, reduction in mental health provision and cuts in education funding.

We do all we can as a school and offer so much more than an education, but we also know that we are limited in our reach.

Come together

But on 6 November, in collaboration with Oxfam, we will hold our first inequality hearing.

We will bring together local MPs, councillors, community organisations, faith groups, local headteachers, national education organisations and our own staff, parents and carers to think together, to plan collective action and to influence change. 

London is the fifth-richest city in the world. Here, 37 per cent of our children continue to live below the poverty line. 

Life is unfair and our children know that all too well. As educators, we have a moral obligation to level the playing field and to support our children not just to be recipients of change but to become agents of change in their own lives, their own communities and beyond.

Gerry Robinson is headteacher of Woodside High School in North London