Although food poverty is not restricted to families on low incomes, they are twice as likely to experience it. Over the same time period, food prices (in real terms) increased 3.9%The benefit system – from pensions to Universal Credit - has been shown to be a significant factor. Such 'achievement gaps' are a major contributing factor to patterns of social mobility.The ways that affluence and disadvantage can influence educational attainment are potentially very broad. Relevant policies are likely to include how funds are allocated towards pupils from the poorest backgrounds, and the direct teaching support provided to children when they start to fall behind. UK Child Food Poverty. We use necessary cookies to make our site work and analytics cookies to help improve your experience of it. Creating a "My Account" gives you quick and secure access to many of our services including council tax and benefits.H&F’s new universal breakfast and pilot lunch schemes will start in SeptemberHammersmith & Fulham Council has stepped up the fight in its war on food poverty.From September, H&F will now offer a universal free breakfast to every primary school pupil to help local families combat food insecurity. Research for the Trussell Trust by Heriot-Watt University showed that two-thirds of those referred to food banks had reported issues with the benefits systemHowever, income is not the only contributory factor. For example, at age 14, far more parents and children reported that they were likely to go on to HE than eventually would go, from all income backgrounds including the poorest.

The rising cost of living, and specifically the cost of the typical food shop, has occurred during a period when incomes have been particularly stagnant. Addressing inequalities in educational attainment can therefore help to address inequalities in health.

This study focused on 'aspirations, attitudes and behaviours' and used a number of rich large-scale longitudinal sources of data capturing groups of children growing up in the UK today, from early childhood, through to late adolescence.The research showed that educational deficits emerge early in children's lives, even before entry into school, and widen throughout childhood. We know that malnutrition (undernutrition) can cause many problems for children. Moreover, research indicates there is a stronger relationship between parental social background and children’s test scores in England than in many other rich countries. How much do affluence and disadvantage influence educational attainment?This research focuses on a range of factors under the umbrella term 'aspirations, attitudes and behaviours', encompassing a wide variety of influences throughout childhood. For example:Schools have a major role to play in tackling many of the issues raised here. Equally, malnutrition caused by calorie-rich, nutrient poor food can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other life-limited conditions.A baby born to a mother in the most deprived decile is nearly twice as likely to have a low birth weight as those in the least deprived decileUniversal Credit replaces six existing benefits (Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Working Tax Credit) with one single paymentUniversal Credit is a monthly payment to help with living costs. It is known that poor educational attainment has been linked with increased rates of death and illness in adults for a wide range of health conditions. Closing the poverty related attainment gap 3 Introduction Barnardo’s Scotland has a long history of working in partnership with families, schools and communities, however, the introduction of the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2015 to tackle the poverty related attainment gap, has enabled us to extend our work to reach