Hygiene poverty forcing Peterborough students to miss school
Recent figures found that three million children across the UK are experiencing this
A Peterborough school hopes it can play its part in breaking down some of the barriers stopping children from attending.
As pupils prepare to return to school after the summer holidays, new research has uncovered a disturbing and growing crisis of hygiene poverty in UK schools, children are being forced to miss school simply because they lack access to basic hygiene essentials.
'Success is possible'
"We try and get students to feel like they belong," Robin Grover, headteacher at Nene Park Academy, said.
"This is a place where they can come and succeed.
"So come here, work hard, and then we will work with you to overcome these barriers and show you that success is possible."
Nene Park Academy is working with local agencies to help students get access to essential items.
"We do it in a way that isn't particularly public, and we will always ask if there's anything else we can do," Mr Grover added.
The research with primary and secondary state-school teachers, commissioned by household challenger brand smol alongside national charity The Hygiene Bank, has found that hygiene poverty is leading to significant absenteeism, social exclusion and long-term emotional damage for UK schoolchildren.
Teachers estimate nearly three million children in the UK are experiencing, or have experienced, hygiene poverty, with pupils missing an average of six-and-a-half school days per year as a direct result, equivalent to more than 23 million lost learning days a year.