Rising number of children go to school hungry

Four out of five teachers (79 per cent) claim their pupils are turning up for lessons hungry, with more than half (55 per cent) saying the numbers have increased in the past year, according to a report by Kellogg’s.

Two thirds of 500 teachers surveyed (68 per cent) said the main reason that children are arriving unfed is because of apathy by parents, while a similar proportion (69 per cent) cited a lack of time at home.

The survey, which questioned 500 teachers between August 7-21, concludes that families suffering financial hardship is also an issue, with 57 per cent of teachers suggesting a lack of money is to blame for pupils going to school hungry.

In a bid to solve the problem, the report found that many teachers are buying food for youngsters out of their own pocket.

Nearly one in three (31 per cent) of the teachers questioned said they take food into school to give to hungry pupils, with 16 per cent of primary teachers saying they spend up to £24.99 a month feeding youngsters.

But this food is not always healthy – while 60 per cent take in fruit and 45 per cent bring in cereal bars, rice cakes and healthy savoury snacks, 17 per cent take in sweets, cake and chocolate, the report claims.

It warns arriving for school hungry can impair a child’s concentration, cause behavioural problems and impact on learning.

Asked how hunger can affect pupils, some 93 per cent of teachers said it decreases concentration, 87 per cent said it increases tiredness, 73 per cent said it 
affects attainment and 71 per cent said it leads to poor behaviour.

The report, published to mark the launch of Kellogg’s “help give a child a breakfast” campaign, suggests that breakfast clubs are a cost-effective way to ensure that children eat before lessons, but adds research has found that many clubs in schools across England have closed in the past year due to lack of money.

Karin Woodley, chief executive of education charity ContinYou, said: “Many families are really struggling financially and, in extreme cases, this means that there simply isn’t enough food to go round. Breakfast clubs can provide a lifeline for these families so we’re extremely concerned to hear that many are being forced to close.”

Earlier this year, a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that England’s young children are being served “very small” school dinners and given limited choice despite paying more for their meals.

It revealed that almost a third of teachers do not believe that school meals are value for money, with some warning that pupils are often being given chips, pasta and rice rather than vegetables and salad. It also found that there has been an increase in free school meals – a measure of poverty – as more families are hit by economic problems.

Meanwhile, Save the Children said high and volatile food prices are pushing the cost of a basic food shop, worth £7 in the UK, up to nearly four times the average salary in some developing nations.

The charity asked its staff in nine countries to buy a selection of food from local markets, including meat, bread, oil, milk, fruit and vegetables.

Shopping online at Tesco in the UK, the basket of food would cost £7, the charity said.

But in South Sudan, the basket cost nearly four times the average salary, and was the equivalent of paying £1,838 for the food in this country.

In Somaliland, it cost twice the local average weekly salary, the equivalent of £1,034 in the UK.

In India the basket cost half of the average weekly salary, equivalent to £270, while in Mozambique the equivalent of £490 pounds, the Ivory Coast £200, Egypt it was £167, Bangladesh £161 and Spain £20.

The charity stressed that the survey, carried out to coincide with World Food Day, was not scientific. But it pointed out that in some countries meat, fish or bread are already too expensive to be considered part of a regular diet.

The 36 countries that are home to over 90 per cent of the world’s malnourished children, are feeling the effects of the food price rises the hardest, the charity said.

The poorest households can already spend up to 80 per cent of their income on food, but as prices rise, families are being forced to cut back on items like meat.