Responding to new figures which show the number of children estimated to be living in poverty increased from 4.3m to 4.5m between 2022/23 and 2023/24, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“The rising levels of child poverty we are seeing are a stain on our nation and schools see evidence of this day in day out.

“Pupils inevitably struggle to focus on their education if they are hungry or do not have stable living arrangements.

"School leaders and their staff have increasingly been running foodbanks and warm hubs, providing food vouchers, and offering use of laundry facilities in recent years. Schools are not realistically in a position to tackle the underlying drivers of child poverty, and relying on them to provide this type of basic household support should not be necessary.

“While these figures pre-date this government, they should strengthen its resolve to address the root causes of poverty and support families feeling its impact.

“Schools will be extremely concerned about the possible impact of the welfare changes announced by the Chancellor this week. It’s essential the government’s child poverty taskforce produces tangible proposals which make a real difference, and that we see more investment in vital community support so children and families get the help they need.”

NB – The 4.5m figure is based on the number of children in relative low income housing, after housing costs have been taken into account.