A Cost of Living Crisis For Schools

The Easter holidays are here and schools across England are closed. Two weeks for children to go on holiday, catch up with friends and rekindle the relationships that they have with their parents. It is an essential time of the year. Outside of religion and symbolism, it provides a chance for everyone to catch their breath and for schools, to plan for what is around the corner.

Cost of Living Increases

…schools will be caught in the middle

Chocolate will be a comfort blanket for many of us this April. As the cost of our bills increases and we are greeted with another tax, our misery will be complete. Instead of providing a moment to reflect on the past two years, it will place tens of thousands below that red line.

Families that have been clinging on during the pandemic will now be plunged under the poverty line.

600,000 families will now need to re-think. In order to make ends meet it may mean that Mums/Dads will be required to get extra shifts at work/to go back to work. It may mean that parents will need to ask their parents for assistance. It may lead to problems such as alcoholism, abuse and the breakdown of relationships. It is a serious problem and whilst we will all need to re-think, it will be those hard-working, working-class families that are hit the hardest.

The effect of all of this is that it will move more families under the poverty line and schools will be caught in the middle.

The Knock-On Effect On Schools

…with their budgets being continually slashed, where is this money going to come from?

The effects will not be seen straight away. The effects will begin to be shown as the weeks and months drag by and savings are dipped into.

Once the impact is felt, schools will in all likelihood see an increase in demand for free school meals, as well as breakfast and after school clubs. Alongside this will be an increase in costs. Food is expensive and will continue to climb as the conflict in Ukraine rages on.

We are living through a period of rapid change with the lowest income families set to be hardest hit. It is not a prospect that many of us relish and schools need to be prepared, yet with their budgets being continually slashed, where is this money going to come from?

What Can We Do?

…if we all did something small for someone else, then imagine what the headlines would look like?

PTA fundraising events will become more frequent and the need for parents to be available to help run after school clubs will also increase. Anything to save costs and ensure that children are placed first, even if that means cutting back on professional after school clubs.

Breakfast clubs and free school meals will be utilised more and more as the year progresses. This will mean that schools need additional funding and resources, which could come from parental donations. Whilst I am not yet a parent, I can safely say that I would donate an amount from my income to help the kitchen. Whether that is £10 a week from each parent (that can afford it) or each family has the opportunity to sponsor a child anonymously, I would not care. I would simply want to help out.

Right now I feel a little powerless and I am unsure as to what I can do to help, apart from raising awareness of the problem.

I want to do what I can to make a practical difference and if we all did something small for someone else, then imagine what the headlines would look like?

The Primary Thought

If we all come together then we can effectively support those who need help.

The cost of living will increase in April. It will provide a challenge for every family living across the United Kingdom, moving many that were holding on below the poverty line. Many of these families will cut back further by going without additional meals and finding extra income, but many will become troubled families.

We do not want to consider additional troubled families as children deserve the right to grow up in happy homes, free to explore and grow. They are entitled to a life free from hardship and pain, yet the world that we are living in is not always able to provide this.

The world has lived through two years of a pandemic, war in Ukraine, mass redundancies and political blunders. From which we are all clinging on to hope that something better is around the corner…

If we all come together then we can effectively support those who need help. We can work as one in order to share what we have. To take that extra £20 that we would have spent in the pub and give it to a family in need.