Half a million children "unhappy at school"
We take a look at the "desperately worrying" findings from the annual Good Childhood survey.
A new report has set out "the continuing decline in children's happiness" amid the cost of living crisis and the longstanding effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Good Childhood Report is an annual review of the wellbeing of young people. This year it found:
- 1 in 16 children (6%) aged 10 to 15 in the UK are unhappy with their lives.
- An estimated 562,000 10-15 year olds, are unhappy with school.
- 1 in 5 (18%) girls aged 10-15 are unhappy with their looks.
Cost of living crisis impacts children
As expected, the current cost of living crisis is having a significant effect on families, with 85% of parents and carers surveyed in 2022 saying they are concerned about how it will affect their families in the next year.
Over a third of parents and carers reported they already struggled with costs of school trips and uniform over the last year.
The charity also reveals that happiness with school and schoolwork declined significantly with age.
- 10 year olds rated happiness with school 8.1 out of 10 compared to 6.6 out of 10 at age 15
- Happiness with school and schoolwork was also significantly lower among children in lower income households
One teenager the charity spoke to about the findings said: “…a big problem with the expectations with schoolwork, so like the amount of schoolwork we have to do in school and outside of school. They don't take into consideration the things people actually go through, like mental health and family problems and stuff like that outside of school”.
The pandemic’s damaging impact is laid bare with 1 in 9 children (11% aged 10 to 17) saying they did not cope overall with changes due to Coronavirus despite many of the restrictions being lifted when the survey was taken.
Months of lost learning, facing in-person exams for the first time and mounting pressure could all have had a detrimental effect on children’s wellbeing, suggest The Children’s Society.
"Desperately worrying" state of decline
Mark Russell, Chief Executive at The Children’s Society, said:
“It is desperately worrying that children’s well-being is in this state of decline, with huge numbers unhappy with school and thousands of girls struggling with the way they look.
“Right now, the negative effects of the cost of living crisis, the disruption of the pandemic to young people’s education, and the ongoing decline in children’s happiness are on a collision course.
"School is a vital setting to influence children’s well-being, but they need more support, as the reality of what’s facing children and the lack of a holistic response is a national scandal.
"Nowhere to hide"
He continued: “We need a faster roll-out of mental health support teams in schools alongside early support hubs in every local community and there needs to be more support for children whose families are struggling to make ends meet with free school meals available to all children on Universal Credit.
"There is nowhere to hide from the ensuing well-being catastrophe unless urgent action is taken.”
The charity is now calling for better support for schools in the form of a faster rollout of mental health support teams to provide a listening ear if a young person needs to talk to someone, national measurement of children’s well-being to understand how they are feeling and know how to respond, and a widening of the eligibility criteria for free school meals to all children on Universal Credit, making sure children in struggling families avoid hunger at school.
UK cost of living crisis continues
Interest rates and inflation go up
Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.
Energy bills
The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.
Food prices
The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.
Prices at the pumps
The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.
Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100
On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.