12 July 2024
New research has found over two thirds (68%) of teachers in England are concerned at least one child in their class will experience hunger during the summer holidays because their parents or carers cannot afford to feed them.
The survey commissioned by food rescue charity The Felix Project and carried out by Teacher Tapp [1] found 50% of the 9,834 teachers who responded were worried between one and three children in their class will go hungry. A further 13% said they are worried between four and six children will go hungry; 3% said between seven and ten and most disturbingly 2% said more than 11 children in their class. This could equate to around 645,000 [2] school children or 9% of the total school population across England going hungry.
Further analysis reveals schools in the most deprived areas, where more pupils are eligible for free school meals, 38% of teachers say more than four children will go hungry, this compares to just 4% in the most affluent areas.
In London where the charity is based, and 1,118 teachers responded, the results also found 68% of teachers were concerned at least one child in their class will experience hunger because parents and carers cannot afford to feed them during the holidays. The breakdown showed nearly half (47%) are concerned about between one and three pupils, 16% said between four and six pupils, 3% said up to 10 and again shockingly 2% said 11 or more. This could mean 104,000 [3] school children in London are at risk of hunger.
The charity, which rescues good quality food that cannot be sold and redistributes it to over 1,000 community organisations and schools every week who are working to feed those in need, says it is doing all it can to ensure they are providing food support.
Charlotte Hill OBE is CEO of The Felix Project said: ““That any child might experience hunger and not have access to enough nutritious food during the school holidays is heart-breaking. However, through these results we can see there are many teachers out there worried up to 6 children per class may be in this position – that’s beyond heart-breaking, that’s shameful for our society. We know the holidays are tough for parents and carers, when schools are closed and free school meals are unavailable, many struggle to cover the extra costs of feeding their children at home. Last summer thanks to funding from Mayor of London, The Felix Project delivered the equivalent of 3.6 million meals to children and families in need across the capital and this year we will be providing this vital support all over again.”
During term time The Felix Project delivers food to 170 schools every week. Work continues throughout the holidays to ensure children and families across London have access to healthy and nutritious food. The charity provides a range of services including large scale food deliveries, nutritious prepared meals and cook at home meal kits.
One of the schools in line to receive support over the summer is Mandeville Primary School in Hackney. The school is one of three to be overseen by the Learning, Education, Arts, Partnership (LEAP) governing body. All three sites receive food during term time, which is used to stock a weekly free shop, open to all parents, these deliveries will continue during the six-week break. The school is also putting on holiday activity camps, but only for three weeks and they are worried about how families who rely on these may be affected for the other three.
Marc Thompson (pictured) is Headteacher of Mandeville, he said: “We are doing all we can to support parents and carers during the holidays, when we know many struggle to afford to buy enough food, but sadly there may still be some children that end up going hungry and missing out on the nutrition they need. These results are shocking but not surprising, I believe around 60% of children in our classrooms risk going hungry this summer. The food we get from The Felix Project is vital for us to try and prevent holiday hunger and ensure our pupils enjoy their summer break and come back feeling ready and energised for the new term.”
The Felix Project work to feed children and families over the school holidays is done thanks to funding from the Mayor of London. It is part of Sadiq Khans commitment to helping families during the cost of living crisis.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It is deeply concerning that so many children are facing hunger during the school holidays due to the cost-of-living-crisis created by the previous Government. That's why I’ve stepped forward to provide funding to help partners deliver healthy, nutritious meals during all school holidays, in addition to providing free school meals to all state primary schools in London during term time. I am determined to ensure that no parent or child in the capital goes hungry and am looking forward to working hand-in-hand with the new government to build a fairer London for everyone.”
[1] Question asked: Think of the class you have the most contact with over a week, how many are you concerned will experience hunger, because their families are struggling to afford to feed them, over the holidays?
[2] Assuming an average of 2 pupils for the 1-3 group, 5 for the 4-6 group, 8.5 for the 7-10 group and 11 for the 11+ group, teachers have concerns about an average of 2.3 children in each primary class and 1.9 in each secondary class. This would equate to 9% of an average primary class of 26.6 and 8% of an average secondary class of 22.4 (https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics ).
[3] NB average class sizes in London are slightly smaller: 26.5 for primary and 22.2 for secondary; otherwise, calculations have been made as above
