By Matt Wrack, NASUWT General Secretary
Teachers do not need another report to tell them that child poverty is rising. They see it every morning in the faces of the pupils who walk through their doors.
They see it in the children who arrive hungry, cold, anxious, or simply unable to face the day because the pressures at home are too much. And perhaps worst of all they see pupils pretending they are not hungry and who know there is nothing to eat at home and they have no money in their pocket.
In Westminster the Government may still be debating the scale of the problem, but teachers see the consequences every day in the classroom and they are clear about what is causing it.
In our recent NASUWT survey on pupil absence, the most common trigger identified by teachers was poverty and financial hardship. Almost one in five teachers named it as the primary cause of rising absence. Behind that number are stories that should trouble anyone who believes children deserve a fair chance.
One teacher told us: “Poverty and the effects of poverty is the biggest obstacle any pupil has to overcome.” Another described pupils missing school because they had no clean clothes and no way to wash them. Others spoke of children arriving exhausted from caring responsibilities, or too hungry to concentrate, or too embarrassed to sit in a classroom when their most basic needs were unmet.
These stories reflect what NASUWT has been warning for years - child poverty is one of the most damaging forces shaping children’s educational attainment, wellbeing and future life chances.
Even before the pandemic, 4.3 million children were living in poverty in the UK, with the burden falling heaviest on lone‑parent families, larger families and Black children. Most shockingly, the majority of children in poverty live in households where at least one adult is in work.
But in the middle of all this teachers keep going. They are running breakfast clubs, stocking food banks and washing uniforms. They buy toiletries, snacks and sanitary products out of their own pockets.
But as one NASUWT teacher said: “We can’t do any more. We physically cannot. We’ve kids coming in cold, hungry and unable to access the curriculum, and we tell them they matter. They know we are lying. If they mattered, why would society leave them cold, hungry, with a reading age of 6 and undiagnosed ADHD?”
It is impossible to hear these experiences not conclude that when the State steps back, it is public‑sector workers who step forward. Teachers, like firefighters, care workers, nurses, postal workers and all those who hold up our communities, are the ones keeping society together when political choices damage our social fabric.
They are the people who refuse to walk away from children who have been failed and who keep hope alive in places where too many in power have turned their backs.
Hunger is not a side issue that sits outside the school gates. It affects attendance, behaviour, concentration, attainment and wellbeing. It shapes the emotional climate of classrooms and determines whether a child can learn, participate or even come to school.
When we asked teachers what would make the biggest difference to improving attendance 43% said tackling poverty would.
Free School Meals for All is one of the most direct, effective and immediate ways to do that.
It will improve attendance, boost concentration, raise attainment and reduce stigma. Means‑testing hunger is not only inefficient; it is cruel and it forces families to prove their poverty, leaving thousands of children not eligible for free school meals but living in households that cannot afford them.
School meals that are universal are simpler, fairer and cheaper to administer and treat all children with dignity.
The Government’s recent child poverty strategy did not commit to universal free school meals and it did not address the deep structural inequalities driving families into hardship.
NASUWT has long argued that tackling child poverty requires addressing its root causes by providing secure incomes, decent housing, fair work and properly funded public services and not just outsourcing responsibility to schools.
Meanwhile, schools are being asked to fill the gaps left by a fraying social safety net. Teachers cannot be social workers, benefits advisers or emergency food providers. Their primary role is to educate children.
But teachers are exhausted. They are emotionally drained. And they are being asked to compensate for political choices that have left many families struggling severely.
Free School Meals for All will not by itself solve child poverty. But by ensuring that every child has at least one nutritious meal a day, it will give parents a measure of security and give teachers the space to focus on teaching.
As schools return after the Easter break, thousands of children will walk back into classrooms still facing the same barriers of hunger, cold, insecurity and the grinding pressure of poverty. They cannot wait for another review or another round of consultations. They need action now.
Free School Meals for All is one of the clearest steps the Government could take to show that it truly believes every child deserves the chance to learn, thrive and grow.
Teachers will continue to do everything they can for their pupils.
But they should not have to fight this battle alone.
