School governors, headteachers and education unions in England have written to the prime minister calling on him to scrap the two-child limit in the autumn child poverty strategy.

The organisations, the National Governance Association (NGA), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Education Union (NEU), NASUWT and UNISON say there is “…overwhelming consensus” in the education sector in England that government’s mission to tackle child poverty must start with abolishing the “cruel”, “poverty-producing” two-child limit.  

“…No child deserves to live in poverty, full stop. But the educational impact of the poverty that continues to rip through our communities and schools cannot be overstated,” the letter says.

It calls on the prime minister to urgently “meet schools in the middle” by scrapping the policy in full, as school staff “work tirelessly every day to protect children from the harms of poverty”.

“…Pulling households out of poverty must be the cornerstone of this government’s work. And there is overwhelming consensus across our sector that this must start with scrapping the cruel two-child limit policy.

The government cannot claim an ambitious child poverty strategy while any part of this policy remains in place.”

“…We need bold action that addresses poverty at home, to ensure all children can thrive at school.”

Notes to editors:

The Two-Child Limit denies the child allowance in universal credit to third or subsequent children born after April 2017.

The full text of the letter is below: 

Dear Prime Minister,

As school leaders, head teachers, governors, teachers and support staff working in schools and academies across England, we are writing to you about the forthcoming government child poverty strategy and the critical need for it to fully scrap the two-child limit policy. This poverty-producing policy is harming the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and young people in our classrooms, and we are calling on government to put an end to this this autumn.

When it comes to supporting children and families, we have been encouraged by the steps your government has taken so far, and the recognition of the important role schools can play. Expanding free school meals, rolling out breakfast clubs and seeking to bring down the cost of the school day, through measures such as the cap on branded school uniform items, are all positive. These things clearly matter to families, and they show the government’s intent to improve the day-to-day experiences of children in struggling households.

But these measures alone won’t give ‘every child the best start in life’ or significantly bring child poverty down. We know from our collective experience how far away many families are from making ends meet, and that poverty is deepening. In the 2023/24 academic year, school support staff reported increasing levels of hardship in their schools, with 81 per cent saying more parents needed financial support and the vast majority reporting seeing more children arriving at school hungry.[1] The role of schools has been expanding to meet these mounting needs, with a 2025 survey of school governors showing that more than half have increased the additional support they provide pupils and families over the past 12 months.[2] But this is clearly unsustainable. And school-based approaches alone cannot undo child poverty.

‘Heartbreaking when you see these kids five days a week struggling to cope with everyday life. You know they aren't getting enough food and sleep.’ Teaching Assistant

No child deserves to live in poverty, full stop. But the educational impact of the poverty that continues to rip through our communities and schools cannot be overstated. Poverty is having an adverse impact on children’s ability to learn, with children living in low-income households doing worse on average than their peers at every milestone, and it is making it increasingly hard for educators to carry out their core roles, with 79 per cent of school staff in all roles reporting this.[3]

Addressing child poverty goes hand-in-hand with the Department for Education’s inclusion agenda. Supporting all children to thrive in their school environment must include addressing the root causes of poverty, which hinder so many children including disproportionately those with special educational needs and disabilities, making it harder for them to achieve at school. No child should be locked out of the education to which they are entitled.

Pulling households out of poverty must be the cornerstone of this government’s work. And there is overwhelming consensus across our sector that this must start with scrapping the cruel two-child limit policy. The government cannot claim an ambitious child poverty strategy while any part of this policy remains in place. We work tirelessly every day to protect children from the harms of poverty, but we come together on behalf of the teachers, school leaders, governors and support staff we represent to ask government to meet us in the middle. We need bold action that addresses poverty at home, to ensure all children can thrive at school.

Paul Whiteman, General Secretary, National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT)

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)

Matt Wrack, General Secretary, NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, National Education Union (NEU)

Emma Balchin, Chief Executive, National Governance Association (NGA)

Christina McAnea, General Secretary, UNISON

[1] UNISON, Cash-strapped school staff are paying for pupils’ essentials, 2023

[2] NGA, Annual School and Trust Governance Survey, 2025

[3] CPAG, ‘There is only so much we can do’ – school staff in England, 2023