Surge in pupils going to school hungry

A growing number of children in most primary schools are showing the effects of family trauma and emotional disturbance, their principals have said.

They are also seeing increasing evidence of poverty and neglect, with more than one-in-five reporting a rise in pupils arriving to classes hungry.

The findings emerge from a survey of almost 650 primary school leaders, which included questions about conditions among pupils.

More than four-in-five principals said more children now have attention disorders and nearly two thirds are seeing more children with emotional disturbance. Over half say there is increasing evidence of family trauma among pupils, while more than one in five have witnessed a rise in depression and violent behaviour among those enrolled in their schools.

The survey was carried out by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN), whose president, Gerry Murphy, said children who are hungry going to school can not properly access the curriculum.

“Bearing in mind that in 2010, food poverty affected children in one out of every 10 families, it would be shameful and irresponsible of policymakers to ignore this reality,” he said.

Hundreds of schools and teachers run breakfast clubs for the neediest children with support from local communities and businesses, as they try to prevent hunger causing children to lose concentration in class.

Mr Murphy said children face complex social challenges, with new forms of disadvantage affecting their school experience, including middle-class families losing their homes, cyberbullying, early sexualisation, and parental drug and alcohol abuse.

However, while support teachers are available for pupils falling below standards at maths or English, Mr Murphy said the same level of support should be provided in primary schools for the growing numbers who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

“There are significant numbers of children being medicated for these conditions and the long-term effects of these drugs can be devastating,” he said.

“If the top students can’t get work after they go on to university, they can get on a plane.

@jonathanhealy to top that...school my own kids go to has had to cut back on provided lunches due to funding cutbacks

— Pat Kelly 🇺🇦 (@devilman40k) January 24, 2013

“But we will still have to deal with the ones who aren’t coping with a range of other stresses. We need to address issues of mental health, and suicide at the extreme end, at the earliest opportunity which could be in the very early years of young people’s lives.”

Proposals for the Government are being prepared by IPPN with children’s group Archways, National Parents’ Council-Primary, and Early Childhood Ireland on ways to address mental health issues.

Vulnerable children

The effects of the recession on homes with school-going children have been highlighted by many recent official statistics.

The number of families qualifying for help with school costs is on the increase, but payments they receive are being cut by €50 per child this year.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance was paid to more than 187,000 families last year. This was 27,000 more than in 2010 and just 9,000 fewer than in 2011, despite payments no longer being made for children aged under four from 2012.

A study last autumn from the Department of Social Protection showed that one-in-10 Irish people can not afford regular nutritious meals or have been forced by financial reasons to skip a meal in the past fortnight. Families with at least three children under 18 and lone parents were most likely to suffer such food poverty.

Records from the 3,300 primary schools to the National Educational Welfare Board show that more than 31,000 pupils are marked absent on an average school day.

The board’s staff work with families of children who are missing most time in class, and have found some are avoiding school because of mocking over poor hygiene or uncleanliness.

In one such case, it was discovered that the family had not been able to afford their heating or energy bills and their supplies had been cut off. The child started returning to school more regularly after the intervention of a local charity helped restore power and heat to the home.