The cost of living crisis is pushing families to the brink and the impact of disadvantage on children’s lives and their education is far-reaching. Sean Harris explains how schools can respond using three Cs...


The cost of living crisis is affecting all of our school communities. In 2022, our families experienced rising food costs, record levels of inflation, and a surge in their energy prices that has still not abated. And things will not get easier this year with food inflation alone expected to hit 17̂% (Nabarro, 2022).

Schools are seeing more families in need – and this goes beyond the labels of Pupil Premium or free school meals. An analysis published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Stone et al, 2022), calculated that a single person needs to earn £25,500 a year to reach a minimum acceptable standard of living in 2022/23. Couples with children need to earn £43,400.

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