Child poverty in the UK

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, thirty per cent of children, or 4.1 million, were living in relative poverty in 2017-18 in the UK and 70% of children living in poverty were in working families. This means that in a typical classroom of 30 children, nine would come from a household in poverty.

Using the material in Appendix 3, discuss some of the reasons for child poverty in the UK.

Child poverty in the UKBackground:
More than 500,000 British workers have been swept into working poverty over the past five years, according to a report that shows the number of people with a job but living below the breadline has risen faster than employment.Growing numbers of working parents find it harder to earn enough money to pay for food, clothing and accommodation due to weak wage growth, an erosion of welfare support and the rising cost of living.Many working people have low-paid jobs, part-time work and zero-hour contracts. In addition, around five million UK adults do not have basic literacy and numeracy skills.Children experiencing domestic violence, substance abuse and underemploymentin the home are far likelier to be excluded from school, becoming involved in criminal activity or becoming teenage parents.Statistics: