Report highlights impact of poverty on children's education

Teachers and principals in the most socially deprived schools also raised concerns over the impact of drug addiction, food poverty and trauma in what they identified as ‘forgotten’ communities. File photo

Poverty impacts on a student’s education from a young age, with children from poorer families more likely to be placed in the lowest ability groups for both reading and maths.

This gap between the less well-off and their richer classmates appears to widen as they progress from senior infants to second class. However, this gap is particularly pronounced in the earlier years of primary school, particularly following the pandemic.