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Headteacher Update @headteacherupdate.bsky.social · 4h

Hidden school hunger & school meals debt: The families of almost 1 in 4 pupils ineligible for free school meals are in debt because they cannot afford the cost of school lunches. Research from @aberlourcharity.bsky.social raises fears over 'hidden hunger' in #schools: buff.ly/qNrDSpU

Hidden school hunger and school meals debt - Headteacher Update

Research from Aberlour Children’s Charity finds many pupils and families ineligible for free school meals are in debt

buff.ly

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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 5d

A south Wales foodbank is calling for an end to uncapped GP charges for providing diagnosis confirmation letters required to access disability benefits

Foodbank demands cap on GP letter fees after disabled man forced to live in car

A south Wales foodbank is calling for an end to uncapped GP charges for providing diagnosis confirmation letters required to access disability benefits. Vale Foodbank says the charges are forcing some...

wp.me

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · 4d

Utterly grim - but sadly not uncommon. I had 9 months of cancer treatment before I qualified for PIP. I relied on charity and community to pay the rent while I was undergoing chemo. Dread to think how much harder it might get for other low-income folk who are diagnosed with cancer in the future.

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · 4d

Current proposals will make it even harder for people with cancer to get financial support for the extra costs it brings. Scrapping WCA means many patients will have to meet PIP criteria instead. PIP currently fails to recognise the specific and unique ways cancer treatment disables people.

Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 4d

"Abolishing the WCA without ensuring the PIP assessment is more inclusive could result in people receiving no support," said @rachaelmaskell.bsky.social.

"This will particularly impact, for example, someone recovering from cancer or a serious accident." www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Labour faces another mass rebellion over reforms to universal credit

Welfare secretary Pat McFadden plans further reforms to the benefits system, expected to include abolishing the work capability assessment.

www.bigissue.com

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Child Poverty Action Group @cpaguk.bsky.social · 7d

To reduce child poverty, government must scrap the two-chid limit. And that means fully scrapping it – no benefit cap, no tapers, no new limit. All children deserve the best start in life, and messing around the edges of this policy won’t cut it. 2/2

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Changing Realities @changingrealities.bsky.social · 9d

Today, we're at Labour Party Conference where Jonny Roberts is speaking at a @cpaguk.bsky.social fringe setting out what action Labour needs to take in order to take decisive action on child poverty [sneak preview of what he may say here 🧵]

www.changingrealities.org

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · 12d

Every day, 109 children are pulled into poverty by the two child limit. Thousands of families have been affected since Labour took power. Childhoods are short and you only get one. Time is well overdue to scrap the 2 child limit and the benefit cap.

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 13d

Part of the 'no strategy, only tactics' problem this government has is: once you have made a manifesto commitment to bringing down child poverty, indeed, once you are *the Labour party*, you were going to have to do the thing that actually reduces it. Much has been wasted thru dallying for a year.

Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 13d

Amid reports that MPs and an advisory taskforce will recommend scrapping the two-child limit on benefits, it's worth noting that this step would be the most targeted and cost-effective way for the Government to meet its aim of reducing child poverty ⤵️

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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 15d

Please do read and share this thread on @changingrealities.bsky.social parents and carers take on what needs to be in the schools white paper.

Echoes much of what @johnharris1969.bsky.social said yesterday, & what thousands of parents are calling for.

Changing Realities @changingrealities.bsky.social · 15d

We can all agree that the current systems of Special Educational Needs support are failing but the next step is to agree what change is needed to build a better, more inclusive system that works for all children

www.changingrealities.org/writings/wha...

[short 🧵, launching new @changing_r note]

www.changingrealities.org

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · 15d

The "cost of living crisis" might be yesterday's news to some, but for people on low incomes facing food insecurity, the rising price of basics is still a major issue

Trussell @trusselluk.bsky.social · 16d

This is how much the price of food has risen in 5 years... 🤯

🥛Milk, eggs and cheese: +47%
🍖 Meat: +35%
🧈 Oil and butter: +60%
🍞 Cereal and bread: +34%
🍓 Fruit: +26%
🥦 Vegetables: +35%

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Child Poverty Action Group @cpaguk.bsky.social · 22d

1 million children in working families are hit by the two-child limit. We asked parents how it affects them and their kids.

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Challenging Education @challenging-edu.bsky.social · 28d

New @cpaguk.bsky.social research reveals pupils on free school meals are being ‘bounced out’ of GCSE subjects like geography, languages, music & PE — not by choice, but by cost.

Read more: tinyurl.com/2bspun9b

#EducationForAll #ChildPoverty

Back-to-school but blocked from learning – secondary pupils excluded by costs

Secondary school children from low-income families are starting the new school year bounced out of some subjects and learning by costs, research from CPAG shows.

tinyurl.com

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Sep 8

New briefing taking a deeper look behind the free school meal data in Wales.

The number of e-FSM children in Wales has fallen since Welsh Govt began to phase out transitional protection.

We estimate 25,000 secondary learners in poverty can't get a free school dinner due to the £7,400 means test.

Free school meals in Wales: secondary learners in poverty overlooked

Latest Welsh government free school meal (FSM) statistics show a fall of 6,000 in the number of children registered for means-tested FSMs in Wales. The fall in the number of children registered means ...

cpag.org.uk

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Challenging Education @challenging-edu.bsky.social · Sep 4

New @cpaguk.bsky.social research shows secondary pupils on FSM are being ‘bounced out’ of subjects like geography, languages, music, and PE—not by choice, but due to cost.

CPAG calls for scrapping the two-child benefit cap in the Autumn child-poverty strategy.

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Child Poverty Action Group @cpaguk.bsky.social · Sep 3

🚨 Today we launched a joint briefing with Gingerbread, @runnymedetrust.bsky.social @z2ktrust.bsky.social @praxisprojects.bsky.social and others on how child poverty affects different groups & the inclusive govt actions needed to tackle it. Link below ⬇️
bit.ly/47RgwvM

Joint briefing: Ensuring the Child Poverty Strategy delivers for all children | Gingerbread

bit.ly

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Sep 2

School costs can be a challenge all year round, but September often brings the biggest outlays on uniform and kit.

Too many children in poverty miss out on the School Essentials Grant because the eligibility threshold has been frozen since 2019. Meanwhile, the cost of school keeps rising.

Child Poverty Action Group @cpaguk.bsky.social · Sep 2

'There are a lot of households living in poverty in Wales who cannot currently access free school meals or the school essentials grant. They can't get help with the cost of school trips.' - Our senior education policy officer @ellieharwood.bsky.social quoted here
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

School costs a 'real struggle' for parents in Wales

One parent says she starts planning months in advance for the costs of the new school term.

www.bbc.co.uk

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 1

Pupils in England from low-income families ‘bounced out’ of costlier GCSEs

Survey says children avoiding subjects such as geography and languages because of fears about extra costs Secondary school pupils from low-income families are “bounced out” of studying subjects such as geography and languages because of fears about extra costs, according to a survey of children in England. Nearly a quarter (23%) of those surveyed who were in receipt of free school meals (FSM) said the cost – or worries about the cost – prevented them from choosing certain GCSE subjects, compared with just 9% of non-FSM pupils. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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EasyReadWales @easyreadwales.bsky.social · Aug 29

We worked with @sionedplaid.bsky.social to make an Easy Read version of her new survey. www.ldw.org.uk/er-work/easy...
It is about the UK Government’s plans to change disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC).

Front covers in English and Welsh of Easy Read Survey How might changes to disability benefits affect you?

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Child Poverty Action Group @cpaguk.bsky.social · Aug 26

NEW - track key changes to health-related and disability benefits all in one place, from the Pathways to Work Green Paper, Universal Credit Bill and Employment Rights Bill: cpag.org.uk/welfare-righ...

Welfare reform: health-related and disability benefits

Keep up-to-date with the main changes included in the Pathways to Work Green Paper and the Employment Rights Bill, affecting personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit (UC), employment and ...

cpag.org.uk

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Aug 13

Research shows many families affected by the policy weren't hard up when their children were born. But circumstances change - no one knows what the future may hold. Job loss, becoming seriously ill or disabled, death of a spouse. The state should support all children facing such circumstances.

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Big Issue @bigissue.com · Aug 13

A group of charities have joined together to write to the PM calling for action on child poverty and an end to the two-child benefit limit.

The prime minister must face facts and end the two-child limit on benefits

www.bigissue.com

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Aug 7

Just horrible 😞 Talking about these things sensitively is so important. I'm doing a clinical trial at the moment to help with anxiety after breast cancer, because studies show most patients continue to fear recurrence for decades afterwards. The language clinicians use can make a big difference!

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Aug 6

It drives me mad that they blame women for not attending breast screening, when the system is so hard to access. Plus, many experts (like David Spiegelhalter) feel it's better to help patients weigh up the possible risks and harms of breast screening rather than just guilting people into attending.

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Aug 6

Wow😳Talk about minimising the effects of treatment! Even at stage 0 it's usually 5 years of hormone therapy and/or radiotherapy, unless you elect to have your entire breast amputated. None of which allows you to 'just crack on'. Do they ever speak to patients when they come up with this stuff?

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Ellie Harwood @ellieharwood.bsky.social · Aug 6

Thank you for sharing your story Millie ❤️ I know it can be hard when your own experiences are tangled up in the same issues you are researching. Getting LCWRA after my cancer diagnosis saved me and my kid from poverty; I dread for other lone parents facing a diagnosis like mine in the future.

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Challenging Education @challenging-edu.bsky.social · Jul 31

🚸 New CPAG report "Priced Out of School" reveals how poverty is keeping 11–18s out of class — from missing uniforms to no money for food or transport. Hear it from young people themselves.

📖 Read more: cpag.org.uk/news/priced-...

#ChildPoverty #CPAG #Education

cpag.org.uk

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