Responding to a new report from the Child Poverty Action Group which found that pupils are missing school because they cannot afford meals, uniforms and trips, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“School leaders and their staff see the shocking impact of poverty every day and tell us how it impacts everything from pupils’ attendance, to their concentration, learning, health and behaviour.

“No child should be disadvantaged at school because of their background or family circumstances, and while schools do everything they can to mitigate the effects of poverty, they cannot solve often deep-rooted social issues whose origins lie way beyond the school gates.

“The education secretary’s welcome commitment to tackling barriers to opportunity must be backed up by ambitious proposals from the government’s child poverty taskforce supported by the significant investment in order to tackle the causes and symptoms of poverty.”