Head teachers share best practice for poverty proofing the school
SCHOOLS NorthEast held its ‘Poverty Proofing the School Day’ event on Thursday, where 40 school leaders from our region explored practical steps that schools can take on a day to day basis to tackle poverty and prevent inequality.
Sara Bryson, Policy and Research manager at Children North East, shared her expertise with the audience by looking beyond just the Pupil Premium.
When income represents the single biggest impact on pupil attainment, do schools have enough insight into the family lives of their students ?
An inquiry into the cost of the school day by the Children’s Commission found that 70% of parents have struggled with the cost of school, but the rate goes up to a staggering 95% when it comes to families that are “not well off at all”. Over half of parents said they had cut back on clothing, food and heating to afford school costs.
School trips, kit lists, school proms and extra-curricular activities are becoming minefields for parents of deprived children. Sara suggested that signs of issues with poverty and resources can be spotted early on by noticing things as small as a children not having pens in class. Even homework being set online makes a huge assumption that everyone has IT access at home.
Sara said that children will avoid asking their parents or guardian for something school-related as they are “acutely aware that their parents struggle with the cost of school”.
Do Free School Meals contribute to stigma?
More and more pupils reveal that their families not being able to afford the cost of school has led to embarrassment and even bullying in some cases. “Schools have become places where inequalities are highlighted”, said Sara, arguing that Free School Meals are a means of distinction between pupils which can cause labelling.
North East Head Teachers participating in the discussion suggested teaching student teachers about poverty proofing as they need to “learn that it’s not all about subject knowledge”.