Minister ‘shocked’ after poorer pupils forced to buy bottles of water at school
Malnourished children are eating tissue paper to fend off hunger, report finds
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
An education minister has been left “shocked” by stories of poorer children being forced to buy bottles of water amid a lack of access to free drinking water at school.
Nadhim Zahawi, children and families minister, has urged headteachers to make sure that disadvantaged children do not feel stigmatised because they are entitled to free school meals.
In a letter, Mr Zahawi has called on headteachers to read a recent report from the Children's Future Food Inquiry, which looked at the food situation of disadvantaged children across the UK.
Laurence Guinness, chief executive of the Childhood Trust, told the inquiry that children had “scavenged for food from bins, eaten tissue paper to fend off hunger [and] bartered for food at school.”
One in three children live in poverty in the UK, with an estimated 2.5m living in "food insecure" households, the inquiry found.
In the letter to schools in England, Mr Zahawi said: “I was shocked to hear some young people report that they do not have access to free drinking water at school and often have buy a bottle of water.
“Schools are legally obliged to provide access at all times to free drinking water on the school premises.
“I would urge you to consider whether you need to do more to make free water as easily available and as visible as you can.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said many schools make it easy for children to enjoy free school meals without stigma.
He said: "The public should be assured that the vast majority of schools already do these things, and indeed go much further by providing food to the many children who arrive at school hungry because of the rising tide of child poverty in our country.
Mr Barton added: "The Government must do more to address the devastating impact of years of austerity on many families."
The Department for Education has established a £26m programme to set up or improve more than 1,700 breakfast clubs in schools.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments