School social events, such as ‘no uniform days’, fairs and trips can cause “poverty shame” and increase the educational attainment gap between children from low and higher income backgrounds, MSPs have been told.
The warning has been made by John Dickie, of the Child Poverty Action Group, to members of Holyrood’s education committee which has launched an inquiry to find out why pupils from more affluent families leave school with higher qualifications than those from poorer ones.
Dickie’s submission, one of dozens received by the committee, highlighted a problem with no uniform days, where pupils are allowed to wear their ordinary clothes in return for a donation to help fundraise for projects such as new playground equipment or library books.
He suggested that such events may lead to “poverty shame and stigma” affecting children’s emotional behaviour, causing some children to miss school rather than face the embarrassment of being judged by better off peers.
“Some children are unable to attend and benefit from school trips. Effort is required from school staff to fund subsidies in schools where parents are less likely to be able to pay,” Dickie said in his written submission.
“Entry costs, equipment and travel can stop children participating in the full range of school clubs and wider achievement initiatives. Not bringing money for fun events may mean not getting to take part.”
He added: “Non uniform days can place pressure on children to buy new outfits and they noticeably affect attendance.”
He highlighted comments from one nine-year-old pupil about the experience of “poverty shaming”.
“There’s nothing to do at the summer fair if you don’t have money. Even throwing a sponge at the teacher costs about £1. Sometimes you just have to sit in class if you don’t have any money, that’s happened to me. You get made fun of.”
Dickie said: “Inability to participate in the same activities as their peers can leave children feeling different and embarrassed. Children speak about being keenly aware of income differences and about feeling left out or deliberately self-excluding from opportunities.”
Between 2014 and 2017, one in four children in Scotland were officially recognised as living in poverty, with forecasts projecting significant increases by 2020.
There is evidence that growing up in poverty undermines children’s attainment at school. For instance according to Scottish Government figures, at the age 11 in Scotland, there are marked differences in performance based on the deprivation of the area a child lives in. In 2016, the attainment gap between the most and least deprived areas was 21 percentage points for reading and 22 points for numeracy.
However, Greg Dempster, general secretary of the Education Endowment Fund, disputed the benefits of focussing on issues such school uniform or teachers pay.
Instead, he argued that improving the quality of teaching would be a key measure in improving the academic performance of children from lower income families.
Controversially, too, he claimed the standard of teaching in schools in poorer areas was lower than that in school in more affluent areas.
“There is evidence that improving the quality of teaching is likely to have a disproportionately positive impact on children from low-income families, and that the quality of teaching is generally lower in schools serving disadvantaged communities,” he stated in his submission.
Closing the educational attainment gap is key target for the Scottish Government. Nicola Sturgeon launched the National Improvement Framework in 2015 to prioritise targeted improvement activity in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. The policy is is supported by the commitment of the £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) over the lifetime of the current Parliament.
Responding to the Holyrood inquiry, Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney said in 2018-19 the Scottish Government will provide a total of £179m through the ASF including £120m of Pupil Equity Funding allocated directly to schools. Further resources are distributed to local authorities and schools with the highest proportions of children living in areas with high levels of social and economic deprivation. Submissions to the inquiry were also made by trade unions, teachers, pupils, local authorities and individual schools.
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