The child poverty epidemic in the North

The latest report from the Child of the North APPG that I am co-chair of, demonstrates the inequality across the country, with northern schools losing out on hundreds of pounds of funding per pupil compared to those in London.

Over the last 10 years, ongoing inequalities in funding have meant schools in the North of England have received less money from the National Funding Formula (NFF) on average than their southern counterparts.

This new analysis found that on average pupils in London received 9.7% more funding than those in the North.

Schools in London received an average of £6,610 per pupil compared to £6,225, £5,956, and £5,938 in the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and The Humber, respectively.

Children in the most affluent schools in the country had bigger real terms increases in funding than those in the most deprived ones, despite the increased burden placed on these schools due to wider societal issues that impact the families they serve.

This inequity corresponds with children in the North having higher school absences, including health and mental health absences, and educational performance is poorer.

The Child of the North: Addressing Education and Health Inequity report also highlights that children born into the poorest fifth of families in the UK are almost 13 times more likely to experience poor health and educational outcomes by the age of 17.

In Liverpool Riverside, 11 out of every 30 children in a class live in poverty: what this report confirms is that political choices made by this Government have reduced equality, widened the gap between richer and poorer, between north and south, blunting the potential and consequent life chances for millions of children.

Read the Full Report here