You may not know just how many children in your school are affected. It is not something that most families like to broadcast. The imprisonment of a family member brings stigma as well as a sense of loss and practical hardship.
It is also probably more common than you think – seven per cent of children live through the imprisonment of a parent during their time at school and there are two-and-a-half times as many children of prisoners as there are children in care. These are vulnerable children who are not always easily identified.
Elisabeth Carney-Haworth is headteacher at Torpoint Nursery and Infant School in Cornwall and has had first-hand experience of supporting children with a family member in prison: “It is crucial that parents have a good relationship with school so that they tell us if a parent is likely to go to prison or has been imprisoned. We need to demonstrate that the school is part of a network supporting them and their children and will not be judgmental.”
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