Programmes within schools and nurseries should be at the forefront of a government plan to tackle childhood poverty, a think-tank led by the former Children’s Commissioner for England has told ministers.
A report from Anne Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives and Child of the North states that “schools and nurseries are anchors in the most deprived communities and that they should play a leading role in those areas with the worst child poverty”.
It calls for government to produce a plan to support schools to reduce the impact of poverty as a first step of a national plan to reduce numbers of children living in disadvantaged households.
Other recommendation include a targeted programme of funding to support schools in areas with the highest child poverty rates to coordinate services and support to reduce the impact of poverty on children alongside a targeted extension of universal free school meals in these areas.
