Nearly four in five teachers say 'holiday hunger' is failing to improve

Children return to school 'looking visibly less well nourished'

Holiday hunger is affecting more children now than it did three years ago, nearly four in five teachers have warned.

The number of teenagers going hungry during the summer holidays has failed to improve, the poll conducted by the National Education Union revealed.

They also said they were concerned local initiatives designed to tackle the issue, such as food banks, are not equipped to meet the demand.

Of 657 secondary school teachers surveyed, nearly half confirmed children in their school had experienced holiday hunger.

Seventy-seven per cent said in the last three years the situation had either worsened (51 per cent) or stayed the same (26 per cent).

Fifty-nine per cent felt the combined provision of food banks, charity/volunteer organisations and faith groups was insufficient to tackle holiday hunger. Just five per cent thought it would be enough.

One teacher told the survey: “I see children come back to school in September looking visibly less well nourished.”

Another said: “We have 51 per cent [of students on] free school meals and I’ve seen no local provision.”

A third added: “When many of our children are struggling to get enough food during term time (when over 50 per cent get at least one good meal per day as they are FSM), the problem will obviously be exacerbated during the holidays.”

Ros McNeil, assistant general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Teachers are acutely aware of the devastating effects of holiday hunger on children’s mental and physical wellbeing. Such extensive poverty simply should not exist in a country with the fifth-largest economy. Food banks, faith groups and charitable/voluntary organisations are now being left to pick up the pieces where central government has failed.

“Indeed, rather than fix the problem of child poverty, the government has instead attempted to redefine it. Of the services available, demand will clearly outstrip supply. It is shameful that the safety net is so threadbare. The government must take steps to tackle the issue of holiday hunger through properly funded and resourced programmes.

Given the scale of the problem the government’s announcement of £2m additional funds to help disadvantaged children with food and fun over the holidays, while welcome, goes nowhere near far enough to tackle the desperate plight of families and children.”

It comes after a previous NEU survey found malnourished children are stuffing their pockets with food as the numbers living in poverty grows.

The survey found three in five (60 per cent) of school staff believed child poverty had worsened since 2015. Of those, the vast majority (87 per cent) said it was having a significant impact on the learning of their pupils.