Schools Forced to Fill Gaps as Homelessness Crisis Engulfs Record Number of Children
Teachers across England are taking on extraordinary roles to support homeless pupils, with new research revealing they are driving children to school, washing uniforms, and regularly referring families to food banks. This comes as government figures show a record 175,025 children are now living in temporary accommodation across the country, highlighting a deepening housing crisis that is placing unprecedented pressure on educational institutions.
Survey Exposes Extent of School Support for Homeless Families
A comprehensive survey conducted by housing charity Shelter in partnership with the NASUWT Teachers' Union has exposed the growing burden on schools. The research, which gathered responses from 11,000 teachers, found that most educators had worked with homeless children within the last academic year. Nearly half of respondents – 49% – reported that their schools regularly refer homeless families to food banks to help them access essential nutrition.
The situation is particularly challenging because families are often placed in temporary accommodation miles away from their children's schools. This has led to 41% of teachers stating that school staff have directly helped homeless children get to classes through transportation assistance. Furthermore, a quarter of educators revealed that their schools regularly wash school uniforms for families living in temporary housing without adequate laundry facilities.
Impact on Children's Education and Wellbeing
The vast majority of surveyed teachers reported that homelessness significantly impacts children's attendance, academic performance in assessments, and mental health. Matt Morden, headteacher of Surrey Square Primary School in Walworth, south London, where a quarter of pupils live in temporary accommodation, explained the direct consequences: "Many of the children have asthma or sickle cell disease, so they are much more vulnerable, especially when the accommodation is damp, or the heating is not working. They are getting chest infections and colds because of the conditions they are living in, which isn't helping their attendance."
Morden added the fundamental challenge facing these children: "How can you be expected to come into school and learn if you haven't slept properly, or you haven't had heating and it's freezing?"
Personal Stories Highlight Human Cost
The statistics are given heartbreaking human dimension through stories like that of Alicia Samuels and her six-year-old son Aeon. The 39-year-old mother has been living in temporary accommodation in Tower Hamlets, east London, since she was pregnant with her son. She became homeless after her father died and she could no longer live in his council house, subsequently moving through five different temporary homes.
Samuels described the one-bedroom flat she shares with Aeon as damp and infested with rodents. She revealed that her son has developed hearing problems because of fluid in his ear resulting from mould in their accommodation. "I've told the school about the fluid in Aeon's ear. I don't want him to get sanctioned for not paying attention, if his mind goes somewhere else because he can't hear," she explained. "He's very shy and he doesn't speak up in school much. He would excel so much more if he had more space for himself. I think he would find more confidence and independence."
The emotional toll extends beyond educational challenges. Samuels admitted she avoids inviting other children to playdates with Aeon because she feels "so embarrassed" by their living situation. "It gets me emotional ... he goes round his friends' houses and they have their own room and a playroom. Aeon doesn't have his own space. He has a lot of anxiety. He has trouble sleeping because of the accommodation," she shared.
Charities and Unions Call for Government Action
Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, has called for urgent government intervention: "The government must ramp up the delivery of genuinely affordable social rent homes by setting a national target for delivery. We need 90,000 social homes a year for 10 years."
Matt Wrack, NASUWT general secretary, emphasized that while teachers are doing everything possible to support affected pupils, they cannot solve the housing crisis alone: "Teachers and school leaders are pulling out all the stops to help mitigate the effects of homelessness on these pupils and their families, but they cannot fix our national housing crisis. The government needs to go further and faster to make sure that no child's opportunities in life are blighted by the lack of a safe and secure place to call home."
The research paints a stark picture of a system under immense strain, with schools increasingly becoming frontline support services for families caught in England's growing homelessness crisis. Many affected families are living in bed and breakfasts, hostels, and overcrowded flats – temporary solutions that are becoming increasingly permanent for thousands of children across the country.
