The issue
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) states that:
- there were 3.9 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2020-21. That's 27% of children, or eight in a classroom of 30
- 49% of children living in lone-parent families were in poverty in 2019-20* (*latest figures available). Lone parents face a higher risk of poverty due to the lack of an additional earner, low rates of maintenance payments, gender inequality in employment and pay, and childcare costs
- children from Black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to be in poverty: 46% were in poverty in 2019-20* (*latest figures available), compared with 26% cent of children in White British families.
All figures taken from the CPAG website
What we want to see
- We must commit to reversing child poverty. This can be done: According to CPAG, between 1998 and 2003 reducing child poverty was made a priority – with a comprehensive strategy and investment in children – and the number of children in poverty fell by 600,000
- Ending child poverty will require a comprehensive and long-term government-led strategy
- CPAH has detailed a wide range of actions government can take to begin to tackle child poverty: https://cpag.org.uk/child-poverty/solutions-poverty
- NAHT also continue to campaign for auto-enrolment for free school meals and for all pupils to be eligible for the 30 hours early years funding offer.
What we want you to do
- Convene an MPs roundtable in your region (see our briefing document on how here)
- Write to your MP
- Share the PowerPoints and other resources (see below) with your school leader networks and governing body
- Let us know when you plan to run local campaign activity so that we can help you promote the event and support you
- Promote your campaigning work across Twitter using the campaign hashtags (#) and including @NAHTnews
- Get active in your NAHT branch
- If your colleagues aren’t members of NAHT already, encourage them to join
Our conference motion
"Conference believes that the government should acknowledge, and take urgent steps to alleviate, the growing number of children now living in poverty in the UK. Conference notes the impact that poverty has on limiting the life chances of children, and the detrimental affect it can have on children’s educational experience, and ultimately the outcomes of their education. Without this kind of national effort, schools will always be fighting with one hand tied behind their backs as they try to support every pupil.
Conference calls on National Executive to launch a national campaign to highlight the growing scandal of child poverty in the UK and extend its collaborative work in this field by working with charities, parents and other stakeholders to bring about the necessary policy change to make child poverty a thing of past.”
NAHT at Tolpuddle
In July 2022, NAHT visited the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival, where general secretary Paul Whiteman and president Paul Gosling took part in a joint fringe debate about child poverty. Take a look at some photos from the event.
NAHT is a member of the End Child Poverty Coalition
The Campaign to End Child Poverty is made up of organisations from civic society including children’s charities, child welfare organisations, social justice groups, faith groups, trade unions and others, united in a vision of a UK free of child poverty.
The Coalition campaign to achieve this vision by:
- Informing the public about the causes and effects of child poverty;
- Forging commitment between, and across, the public, private and voluntary sectors to end child poverty;
- Promoting the case for ending child poverty with this and every future Government.
Useful resources
MP roundtable resources
NAHT resources
CPAG resources
Useful links
Relevant articles
Campaigning for members on the issues that matter
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG)
Parentkind