Staff spend £40m of their own money to keep school pupils clean
Research says teachers are even washing the uniform of some pupils
Last updated 1st Oct 2024
New research shows an increase in school pupils across the UK in hygiene poverty, with school staff in state schools collectively spending £40 million of their own money to support them.
For National Hygiene Week (October 2nd-8th), teachers are rallying outside Westminster to call on the government’s Child Poverty taskforce to take urgent action and support pupils across the country.
The research shows:
- 62% of school staff have seen children arriving at school with dirty uniforms or kits
- More than half (60%) of teachers have personally purchased pupils’ soap or toiletries
- School staff are seeing more than a third (37%) of their pupils facing hygiene poverty
- 8 in 10 claim they have seen an increase in the number of pupils affected over the last 12 months.
Children going to school in dirty clothes
Hygiene poverty is not being able to afford many of the everyday hygiene and personal grooming products most of us take for granted.
It's thought 4.2m people in the UK live in hygiene poverty.
The research, in partnership with Smol, suggests schools are seeing the impact of that on pupils first-hand, and are also seeing the wider effects.
4 in 10 (42%) staff spotted negative changes to children’s personal hygiene- leading to significant impacts on pupils’ wellbeing and learning, with staff seeing lack of self-esteem, bullying and isolation, while more than a quarter of school (28%) staff have seen pupils miss school entirely.
WATCH: Campaigners warn of the 'insidious impact' of hygiene poverty
Teachers paying for hygiene products
Elsewhere, the the research found a quarter (23%) of staff feel there is an overreliance on them to personally pay for hygiene products, with just under two in five (39%) claiming that a lack of school funding is the biggest barrier to support, with half (50%) purchasing a pupil laundry detergent, and 41% washing their pupils’ uniforms.
Ruth Brock CEO of The Hygiene Bank and Hilary Strong, Suds in Schools Lead are encouraging the nation to write to their local MPs to ensure the issue is firmly on the agenda for the government’s upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
'Stark reality' of hygiene poverty in school
Ruth told us: "All teachers want is for children to show up in the classroom well fed, clean and ready to learn but the stark reality is showing us that is simply not the case.
"It's leading to bullying and isolation, it's affecting their self esteem and no child can learn when they're feeling self conscious and that's why we're launching this campaign.
"The stark reality is that families are facing impossible choices. Their children might be sharing a toothbrush, mums are choosing between nappies for their child and period products for themselves.
"That is simply not right."
What is the Government doing?
A Government spokesperson from the Department for Education told us: “We are taking action to deliver our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and remove the stain of child poverty from our country.
“That includes legislating to bring down school uniform costs by capping the number of branded items, and as many as 750 schools will begin delivering breakfast clubs as early as next April.
“We have also launched a child poverty taskforce co-chaired by the Education Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary to listen to front-line staff and struggling families, delivering an ambitious strategy to increase household income, bring down essential costs, and tackle the challenges felt by those living in poverty.”