Oldham has second highest child poverty rate in North West

Research carried out by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty coalition, shows 39.3 per cent of children in Oldham were living below the poverty line in 2020/21, after housing costs were taken into account.

Out of the North West local authorities, Oldham’s rate was topped only by Manchester where child poverty levels have reached 42 per cent-- the ninth highest rate for all local authorities across the UK and a staggering 12 children in a classroom of 30.

Reacting to the figures, Julie Hollis, chief executive of the Oldham-based Cranmer Education Trust, whose schools include Mayfield Primary School, East Crompton St George’s Primary School, The Blue Coat School and The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy, said: “The rise in child poverty is very apparent and affects all our schools.

“And whilst we can't cure poverty on our own, we can, and do, ensure that every child and young person receives an education that will enable them increase their social and economic mobility, therefore helping solve poverty in the long term.”

Cranmer Education Trust schools ensures breakfast is available to pupils through the Magic Breakfast and the Porridge-for-All schemes. Secondary school uniforms have also been reviewed to reduce branded items and uniform donations are encouraged.

Echoing her comments, Hathershaw College principal Mark Giles said: “Sadly, these figures are not a surprise and are entirely consistent with what we are seeing at The Hathershaw College.”

Left to right: Principal Mark Giles and Cllr Eddie Moores are concerned by the borough's level of child poverty.

At Hathershaw College 44 per cent of students are in receipt of Pupil Premium which is funding received by a school to support young people who have been in receipt of free school meals at any point in the last six years.

The number of students in receipt of free school meals has reached 42 per cent- a rise from 28 per cent prior to the pandemic.

The school has provided parents and carers with a list of sources of financial help and support, subsidised blazers for the new Year 7 intake, limited charity collections, heavily subsidised school trips and provided breakfast for pupils.

Mr Giles added: “Schools can only do so much, and I would urge Government to mobilise more support now before families are genuinely forced to choose whether to ‘eat or heat’.”

Cllr Eddie Moores, Cabinet member for children and young people, said it was “extremely sad” to see the figures and called the levels of poverty in the UK a “national disgrace”.

He added: “I am deeply concerned about the challenges many Oldham families and children are currently facing.

“The UK has the fifth biggest economy in the world – so it's a national disgrace that we have so many living on so little.

“Our main priority at the council is the We Can Help campaign and supporting our children and young people, putting them at the heart of everything we do."

Jim McMahon MP and Debbie Abrahams MP have called on the government to act.

Debbie Abrahams, who represents Oldham East and Saddleworth, said the figures come as “no surprise”.

“In some parts of Oldham, one in two children live in poverty. What often is a surprise to people is the fact that three in every four children in poverty comes from a working family.

“How on earth can we expect children to concentrate at school if they are hungry?

"Poverty in childhood affects their education, and in turn their employment opportunities, and so the cycle repeats itself.

“As the Conservatives look to find a new leader, I would suggest that how they reduce the number of children living in poverty should be a key question – and don’t let them get away with saying it’s about getting into work. Work is no longer a route out of poverty”, she said.

Jim McMahon, who represents Oldham West and Royton, said: “If the Government really wants to level up towns like Oldham it needs to come up with a plan to deal with the tragedy that is child poverty, they’ve been in power for ten years now and things have only gotten worse under their watch.”

In response to the figures, a Government spokesperson said: “The latest figures show there were 500,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10.

"But we recognise people are struggling with rising prices which is why we are protecting the eight million most vulnerable families with at least £1,200 of direct payments, starting this week.

“Through our £37bn support package we are saving the typical employee over £330 a year through a tax cut this month, allowing people on Universal Credit to keep £1,000 more of what they earn and in April we significantly increased the National Living Wage to £9.50, the largest ever rise.”

“In addition, we have expanded access to free school meals more than any other government in recent decades, while vulnerable families in England are being supported by the Government’s Household Support Fund – which was recently boosted by another £500million.”

For more information on Oldham Council’s We Can Help campaign visit www.oldham.gov.uk/wecanhelp.