The effects of poverty on children and young people in the post Covid-19 era

Abstract

In the latest figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 13.4 million people are living in poverty in the UK, representing one fifth of the total population. This proportion varies, of course, in different parts of the UK. There is a notable rise in working poverty where at least one adult in the household is working. The current figures for child poverty in the UK are that 4.2 million (29% of children) are living in relative low-income poverty, once housing costs have
been subtracted. Children are dependents and the level of poverty and deprivation they experience is related to the income, or resource, that is available to the household to which they belong. The effects of poverty on children, however, are multi-dimensional and are manifested in many ways. The experience of poverty affects their attendance in school, their full participation in all aspects of school life and has an impact on their levels of concentration throughout the school day.
Covid-19 had a very serious effect on many facets of daily life, on working patterns, on social interaction, on physical and mental health and on school education for children and young people. It also had an effect on students in Further and Higher education. A number of features of child poverty and deprivation were exacerbated by the effects of Covid-19 and this included food insecurity and digital poverty or exclusion. Further, Covid-19 served to
highlight forms of poverty that were previously less well known and could be described as ‘hidden’ forms of poverty such as the poverty experienced by many young carers and uniform poverty. These four forms of child poverty have emerged as some of the major issues that affect school education across the UK in the Post-Covid-19 era. This article will provide an overview of these four key forms of poverty that have come to the forefront in the post-Covid-19 world and will discuss the challenges for children and young people who experience poverty and deprivation and negotiate formal school education on a daily basis.

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https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/307224/