Almost a third (31%) of those who took part in the survey said they were seeing more hungry children in class, with 40% reporting an increase in pupils coming in without proper uniform or a warm winter coat, research by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found, The Guardian reported. As a result, teachers who may be struggling with their own financial pressures are dipping into their pockets. A quarter of primary schoolteachers said they had spent more than £100 over the past academic year, while almost one in five (19%) said they were specifically buying either clothing or food.
Two-thirds of primary teachers reported spending their own money on classroom materials for art or science, for example, while two in five (42%) had paid for learning resources for pupils including stationery and revision books. The crisis is slightly less severe in secondary schools, where just under two-thirds (62%) of teachers and senior leaders – compared with 79% in primaries – report spending their own money to buy items for their pupils and schools, with one in five estimated having spent more than £100 this year. Jude Hillary, NFER’s co-head of UK policy and practice, said: “Teachers are going above and beyond to meet pupils’ pastoral needs using their personal funds.
This unrecognized, informal support is being offered at a time when teachers individually continue to face their own financial pressures.” The report, published on Wednesday, says school financ.
