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Too skint for school?

The children most likely to fail at school are the one in three who live in poverty. Rys Farthing of the Child Poverty Action Group looks at the impact of poverty on children’s educational achievement and life chances, and invites NUT members to get involved in its latest project.

Despite the government’s historic pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020, 4 million children (roughly 30 per cent), still live below the poverty line. Securing a decent education is critical to avoiding poverty later in life. The tragedy for these children is that they are less likely to succeed at school, or even to enjoy it. Poverty and poor educational achievement are a vicious cycle.

Poverty creates an unfair divide that emerges early, and expands as the years go by. By the age of three, poverty delays ‘school readiness’ development by nine months, and the divide grows. By 11, students receiving free school meals (FSM) are almost twice as likely to miss basic literacy and numeracy standards. Just over 6 per cent of FSM pupils remain at school to take A levels, compared to around 40 per cent of students overall, and in 2008 a mere 176 (about 0.5 per cent) of those students who stayed on received three grade As.

Addressing this divide requires targeted and strategic interventions. We have seen a number of welcome changes, including the government extending free nursery entitlements to three and four year olds and introducing one-to-one English and maths tuition. However, despite these, the educational divide is growing ever wider.

So what’s going wrong? CPAG believes one explanation may be that much needed additional support is being stymied by contradictory policies and practices, especially regarding the costs of schooling. Although the 1944 Education Act stipulates that ‘no school fees shall be charged in respect of admission to any school maintained by a local education authority…’ the cost of schooling is on the rise, and is prohibitively expensive for some. Each year parents spent on average £683.79 for a child in primary school, and £1,195.47 for a child in secondary school in 2007. Sixty-five per cent of low income families find the costs difficult to meet.

Uniforms, excursions and curriculum materials all cost, but are necessary for children to benefit fully from their education. While the School Admissions Code demands that costs be limited, the reality is very different for low income families. A 2007 DCSF survey found that over half of parents felt pressured to pay for school trips, and only 38 per cent were aware charges could not be compulsory.

The cost of uniforms also adds an unnecessary burden. While the code states that uniforms should be available ‘off-the-peg’, many families report having to buy specialist items with logos from designated shops, stopping parents shopping around for the best deal. Anxious parents often spend a week’s wages on uniform costs to ensure their children are not bullied or disciplined.

Targeted interventions in schools and education can only go so far to mitigate the effects of poverty. Reducing the growing educational divide requires a renewed government focus on raising family incomes above the poverty line. Educational initiatives that ameliorate the symptoms of poverty are no substitute for providing families with the money they need to avoid it in the first place. Given how much learning goes on within the family, tackling family poverty as a priority makes good sense.

CPAG – with the help of the NUT – is exploring the impact of school costs and inconsistent policies on the educational divide. We are launching a survey of teachers and schools, and would value your input. Information about this can be found at the 2Skint4School page –
www.cpag.org.uk/2skint4school.

Rys Farthing is a policy and research officer at the Child Poverty Action Group, currently working on the 2Skint4School campaign.