Helen Connor appeared at the meeting via videocall 

A HEADTEACHER has laid bare how soaring price food and energy rises are affecting struggling families, telling a Town Hall meeting how teachers are now looking out for hungry pupils who do not have enough to eat.

Helen Connor from Rhyl Community Primary School in Gospel Oak was speaking at a full council debate last night (Monday) on what has been called the ‘cost of living crisis’ and said the effects would only get worse this winter unless action was taken.

“We’ve got parents who’ve said they’re scared to put the heating on and they’ve asked if they can come to school to sit in the warmth during the school day to make a cup of tea,” she said.

“Many of our families live in appalling home conditions. They’re overcrowded, damp, not fit for purpose.

“And that’s getting worse and children are coming to school now we’ve noticed increasingly with inadequate clothing and not enough to eat for lunch.”

She said that parents were working but still finding they could not afford to pay for school meals and that some children were now missing out on their only hot meal of the day. Schools were trying to help and that Rhyl tried to provide free uniform for those struggling and toys at Christmas, Ms Connor said, but had financial pressure on their own budgets.

“We actively look for children we know are hungry at lunch times and give them extra food, sometimes providing meals to children who come to school with no lunch,” she told councillors.

“What next? I think for every primary school child and secondary school child to have free school meals would make a significant difference. It would mean that children are not hungry. For many it’s their main hot meal of the day and for some the only one, and that’s going to become increasingly important.”

She also suggested a “breakfast club for every child” and said schools would need to be supported with this.

“It’s not just the food, it’s a staff thing. I think there needs to be easier access to community resources which can be spread through schools, and through central hubs. Parents come to schools for support and we can help with the networking. There needs to be better support for parents with highly vulnerable children, especially those with special needs, because respite is going to be even more important for those parents.

“Easier to access services, less forms, less paperwork, and more immediate access, I think is crucial, and support for schools to enable us to help because the funding crisis is meaning that schools have less and less capacity to support.”

Ms Connor added: “I can see that can only get worse. We’re facing the most serious cost of living crisis in our lifetimes and if we can’t work together, and do something constructive, and not let bureaucracy get in the way, there’s going to be a poverty and mental health crisis that’s going to impact on our children for many, many years to come.”