Responding to a new report from the Children's Commissioner which found that some children are living in 'Dickensian' poverty, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Schools have seen more pupils impacted by increasing levels of poverty in recent years, harming not only their health and wellbeing but also their education.

“Children struggle to focus on their learning if they are hungry or do not have a settled home, while difficulties accessing and affording transport can affect their school attendance.

“School leaders and their staff have increasingly been running foodbanks and warm hubs, providing food vouchers, and even offering use of laundry facilities, but this shouldn’t be necessary, and schools cannot tackle all the underlying causes of child poverty.

“We support the children’s commissioner’s call for cross-departmental action. Her report includes a number of interesting recommendations and we have long called for the government to introduce auto-enrolment for free meals to ensure no child misses out.

“It’s vital that the government’s welcome moves to roll-out breakfast clubs and extend free school meals are backed up by further ambitious proposals to tackle the root causes and symptoms of child poverty when its taskforce reports back later this year.”