29/01/2025: ‘We don’t just teach – we clothe the kids, feed them and brush their teeth’
As the bell rings at St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy in Boston, Lincolnshire, head teacher Mrs Booth spots a little boy coming through the gates with his hood pulled up, crying.
20/01/2025: Free school meals ‘would tackle child poverty’
A Labour MP has said he wants to see the government introduce free school meals as a means to tackle child poverty, once the economy improves.
11/12/2024: Reform SEND support or risk ‘widespread local authority bankruptcies’, warns think-tank
The system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) must be overhauled to avoid councils going bankrupt, a leading think-tank has warned.
14/11/2024: Youth club closures increase crime rate and exam failure among young people, report finds
Young people are more likely to perform worse at school and be involved in crime due to “austerity-induced” youth club closures over the last 14 years, a report has found.
24/10/2024: SEND system failing children and cash-strapped councils, NAO finds
The National Audit Office (NAO) has criticised the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England for failing to improve the lives of children and young people or prevent councils from facing “significant financial risks”.
23/10/2024: Government publishes first details of 10-year child poverty strategy
The Cabinet Office has laid out its long-term strategy to tackle child poverty in the UK.
22/10/2024: Free school meals trial feeds 20,000 more children
Thousands more children from England’s poorest households are eating a free school meal because of a new trial scheme.
22/10/2024: Most councils describe children’s services as biggest financial pressure
More than nine in 10 councils say children’s social care costs is putting the most pressure on budgets as a quarter of all local authorities face applying for government bailouts to avoid bankruptcy within the next two years.
29/08/2024: Increase in teachers providing food for hungry pupils
Record numbers of teachers took food into school for hungry pupils during the summer term, according to research by charity Fareshare.
29/08/2024: Cost-of-living crisis impacting children’s wellbeing, research finds
Children living in households worst impacted by the cost-of-living crisis report having lower levels of wellbeing than their peers, major research from the Children’s Society reveals.