WE Scare Hunger Primary Lesson Package for Scotland

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) outlines under Article 24, that every child has the right to the best possible health. Governments must work to provide good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food, and a clean environment so that children can stay healthy. Article 27 notes that every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical, social and mental needs. In order to ensure that young people across Scotland understand the importance of these rights and the responsibilities associated with them, food poverty and hunger are issues that cannot go undiscussed.

Hunger hides on city streets, in our local communities, and in school corridors, often invisible to most around it. It is thought of as a world problem, plaguing far away countries and faceless individuals, overlooked and under-acknowledged where we live. Young people around the world take action to fight local hunger and poverty by participating in WE's WE Scare Hunger campaign.

In Scotland today, almost one in five children are officially recognised as living in poverty—that’s more than 200,000 children. This shocking figure reveals that families go hungry every day, and for many, the local foodbank is their only support. Foodbanks offer emergency, short-term
food supplies to people (the majority of whom are working) who find themselves struggling to feed their families. This could be because of sudden illness, a reduction in working hours, or simply an unexpected bill. Food is often donated to foodbanks by local people and businesses. The Trussell Trust, which runs foodbanks across the UK, provided 133,726 three-day emergency food packages to people in Scotland in 2015-16, of which over 40,000 went to children. The demand for donations to these foodbanks is higher than ever.

This lesson package has been designed to meet the Experiences and Outcomes set out in Curriculum for Excellence. It follows the principles of "Getting it Right for Every Child" (GIRFEC) by developing the promotion and support of the eight Well-being Indicators. Where possible, Scottish resources and references have been used to ensure it is relevant to young people in Scotland today. Each lesson in the package is organised into starters, main activities and plenaries, with suggestions for differentiation. Clear learning objectives and success criteria following Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning ensure progression within each lesson and the package as a whole.

These lessons develop many aspects of character education, with a holistic and tangible approach, encompassing local and global social awareness and action, and empowering young people to make positive changes in the world around them.