According to a survey of teachers in Scotland from NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, poverty is decimating the lives of children and young people, affecting their ability to get to school and to engage in learning. It is also affecting teachers, with a massive 89% worried about their own financial situations.
The survey, designed to support Challenge Poverty Week, quizzed teachers on how the cost of living crisis is impacting them, their pupils, and essential provisions like school trips.
92% of teachers said that pupil behaviour had worsened over the last year, 74% said more pupils were struggling with attendance and arriving late, and 70% said more pupils were lacking in energy and concentration. There is concern for pupils’ access to food and appropriate clothing, with 62% of teachers reporting that more pupils were coming to school hungry and 58% observing that more were attending school in unwashed or damaged clothes. A quarter of respondents said their school now hosts its own food bank; 70% have provided food or clothing on an ad hoc basis. There is significant worry over the future of school trips, with 68% of teachers reporting that their school has been forced to limit trips due to cost.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
“It is heartbreaking and infuriating to see poverty shrinking the opportunities available to the next generation. A teacher’s job is to enable children and young people to achieve their full potential but instead, schools are forced to stretch funds to make sure their pupils do not go hungry, and teachers are spending precious time sourcing basic items like clean clothes.
“A world class education affords equal opportunities to every pupil, no matter how much money their families earn. The Scottish government must think seriously about how it can alleviate the financial pressures its schools are facing and act urgently to make sure that every child and young person in its care is able to build and realise the kind of ambition our society is built upon.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Official for Scotland, said:
“Poverty is having a catastrophic impact on our schools. There are a number of measures the Government can take now to improve outcomes for struggling pupils and their families. 17% of teachers say their schools are using PEF money just to keep lunch provisions going, so universal free school meals and improving access to breakfast clubs will be a crucial first step.
“Our young people are missing out on enriching experiences like school trips. A trip should not be a privilege – there is a plethora of evidence to suggest that school trips build essential skills. But unless our schools receive the financial support they desperately need, trips will soon be a thing of the past for most children. That is a disgrace.
“The bottom line is that our schools don’t have a bottom line. They are in the red and sinking fast. Over a third of schools appear to be using family fundraising activities to support core educational business, and if a school has to rely on charity to stay afloat, it goes without saying they do not have the resources to survive. Our schools can’t be expected to limp along for much longer without extra funding from the Government.”
Access the full data set in this Briefing document.
