Teachers report more pupils showing up to class hungry

A new NFER report suggests a growing number of primary school children are showing up to class hungry.

The report is based on a survey of 1,282 teachers and senior leaders across mainstream primary and secondary schools and offers insights into how the increased cost of living is contributing to pressures on schools.

This year, 31 per cent of primary school respondents said more children were showing up to class hungry, with 40 per cent reporting an increase in pupils arriving without adequate clothing.

Seventy-nine per cent of primary school teachers (and 62 per cent of secondary school) said they were spending their own money purchasing items for pupils. Nineteen per cent of primary teachers said they were specifically spending money on pupils’ pastoral need, such as clothing or food.

Around one in four primary teachers and over one in five secondary teachers estimated having spent over £100 so far this academic year.

The report also suggests that the financial position of schools is continuing to deteriorate and that most primary schools are cutting spending on targeted learning support (e.g., tutoring) and learning resources to plug holes in budgets. Almost all school senior leaders (93 per cent of primary and 87 per cent of secondary leaders) report making cuts in at least one area in response to cost pressures.

Budget pressures are also hampering school leaders from making much needed improvements to school buildings. Almost half (46 per cent) of primary senior leaders and a third (33 per cent) of secondary senior leaders report making cuts to planned spending on building improvements and new buildings in response to current cost pressures.  

The report recommends extending the current eligibility for free school meals to ensure pupils in need who do not meet the current eligibility criteria can benefit. At the absolute minimum, this should involve uprating the income threshold for eligibility to reflect inflationary pressures since 2018/19.

It also recommends providing targeted financial support to help schools address pupil’s well-being needs, alongside meeting the additional direct costs (e.g. salary and running costs) associated with current cost pressures, as well as increasing the capacity and responsiveness of CYPMHS and the wider support around families to ensure pupils can access the appropriate support and specialist services in a timely manner, rather than schools and teachers having to step in to fill those gaps in support. This could include revisiting current levels of welfare support for families.

NFER’s Co-Head of UK Policy and Practice, Jude Hillary, said: “This report clearly highlights the high level of need among young people, and the risk of it becoming an entrenched and persistent challenge for pupils, families and staff, particularly in more disadvantaged schools.”

“The cost of living is one of a number of significant cost pressures leading to schools having to make incredibly difficult trade-offs in their core provision - including staffing, teaching and learning.

“Teachers are going above and beyond to meet pupils’ pastoral needs using their personal funds. This unrecognised, informal support is being offered at a time when teachers individually continue to face their own financial pressures.”