Tackling Poverty in Leicester
Childcare and schools
Access to high quality, affordable childcare options is a key ‘enabler’ for people to work and support themselves and their families. We also looked at the role of schools, both as an enabler to parents to access work and training, but also to provide support to children, young people and their families who may be experiencing poverty. The longer-term impact of the school’s role should not be underestimated, in terms of developing children’s skills and aspirations to have a better life for themselves in the future.
The information we have on the take up of free school meals is presented in Food and Clothing. We know that many more children and young people are entitled to free school meals but they or their parents choose not to take them up or they do not know that they could receive them. Schools work hard to improve the take up so that children receive a high-quality meal each day and also to allow schools to draw down additional funding from central government based on free school meals.
The development of early speech, language and communication skills is key in helping children become ready to go to school. Poverty is strongly correlated with lower levels of achievement of speech, language and communication milestones.
Children NorthEast and CPAG have looked at the cost of a school day, raising awareness with schools and childcare settings about the hidden costs that may be causing difficulty for families experiencing poverty.
They encourage settings to undertake a ‘poverty-proofing audit’ to identify areas where they may be able to support families further, such as school uniform, gym kits, stationery items, school trips, after-school clubs, non-uniform days, meals and snacks.
What people told us
Early education
There are concerns that the take-up of Funded Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) for two-year-olds is dropping. Families were thought not to be aware of this, which is consistent with wider patterns around welfare rights.
Uniforms
A scheme to swap old uniforms – would help with material waste. Also generic school uniforms (no logos or badges provided by schools).
Schools must address the issue of expensive uniform items – there is no need when you can buy perfectly adequate low cost items in supermarkets.
Joint working
It was suggested that, when health practitioners carry out development checks for two year olds, the data could be useful in identifying children in need, or at risk of, poverty. Local community organisations collaborating to support families on lower incomes. Consider how schools and nurseries can be publicly recognised for family-friendly policies.
Pupil premium
The fact that families are suspicious about having to provide a national insurance number may be linked to the difficulty schools and settings have in accessing early years pupil premium. Language barriers significantly exacerbate this issue.
Consistency
A continuum of support – pre-school, school, and beyond.
Messaging
Families are not aware of entitlements. Need joined-up communication to families – clear, consistent and accessible information and support.
Our actions and intentions
Every parent should have access to good quality, reliable and affordable childcare options to enable them to work and earn enough money to support their families. Children’s education should not be impacted by their family’s financial circumstances.
The council helps secure this by:
- undertaking our childcare market sufficiency function to ensure there are enough good quality places available
- working to improve the take up of free early education places for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds
- ensuring schools have information to refer families for financial support
- encouraging schools to review their uniform and required equipment costs with a view to reducing this where possible
- promoting and working to increase the take up of free school meals by eligible families
In addition, the council intends to:
- encourage schools to undertake poverty proofing audits and considering the ‘cost of a school day’
Data: Childcare and schools
Learning
The impact of poverty on educational achievement can be stark.
- Children who have lived in persistent poverty during their first seven years have cognitive development scores on average 20% below those of children who have never experienced poverty.
- Gifted children from the most deprived families begin school on a par with gifted children facing least deprivation, but their performance falls away by the age of 16.
- In 2015, 33% of children receiving free school meals obtained five or more good GCSEs, compared with 61% of other children.
Costs of childcare
We collect information about the cost of childcare locally – this table compares Leicester with regional and national data in 2020. We found that childcare prices have risen slightly above inflation this year.
| Childcare type | National | East Midlands | Leicester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 hours a week nursery for child under two | £127 (+3% since 2018) | £113 | £142 |
| 25 hours a week nursery for child age two | £124 (+3% since 2018) | £113 | £142 |
| 25 hours a week for three- and four-year-olds | £49 | £42 | £57 |
| 50 hours a week for three- and four-year-olds | £96 (+2% since 2018) | £80 | £89 |
- All 3 and 4-year olds are entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare, known as the funded early education entitlement (FEEE). Working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds can access a further 15 hours per week as long as they meet the income criteria. If one or both parents work full-time, this often means they need to pay for a further up to 20 extra hours to cover the periods before and after school. The data above shows the price of making up the FEEE place to 50 hours per week costs Leicester parents an average of £89 per week extra, as compared with the east Midlands average of £80 (national average is £96).
- Vulnerable two-year-olds have a FEEE entitlement of 15 hours per week. This is for low-income families to encourage parents to access work and training. The take up in Leicester is lower that we would like and has been reducing since the extended entitlement for 3 and 4-years-olds was introduced.
- The average price for families using an after-school club in Leicester for five days is £76 per week (£56 in East Midlands, £59 nationally) and for a childminder to 6pm is £61 (£56 in East Midlands, £66 nationally).
Obesity
Obesity in childhood has been found to be strongly correlated with poverty. Under the National Child Measurement Programme children are weighed in reception year (age 4-5) and then again in year 6 (age 10-11). The data from 2019/20 for children in reception shows a significant and steady increase of around 1% over each decile in the Index of Multiple Deprivation going from children living in the least deprived areas to those in the most deprived.
However, at year 6 not only has the prevalence of obesity doubled at every decile, the rate of increase is often larger. The data shows that by the age of 11 over 27% of children living in the 10% most deprived areas of the country are obese, as compared with just under 12% of those living in the 10% least deprived.
Bar Chart showing Obesity Prevalence by Deprivation Decile
The following chart shows the comparison of obesity prevalence by deprivation decile between Year 6 and Reception groups.
Deprivation is measured in deciles where 1 represents the most deprived and 10 represents the least deprived.