Children in modern Britain living like 'times of Dickens'

Poverty levels in parts of Britain mirror "the times of Dickens", leaving schools struggling to cope with increasing numbers of children lacking the most basic personal skills, according to a teachers’ leader.



Some pupils from the poorest areas arrive at school unable to dress themselves or use a knife and fork, with some even unable to use a toilet properly, she said.

Lesley Ward, president of the 160,000-strong Association of Teachers and Lecturers, warned that many children were also being relied upon to raise younger brothers and sisters and lacked stable father figures in the home.

In a speech last night, Mrs Ward, a primary school teacher from Doncaster, said Labour had “tried hard on this issue” but had failed to fill the vacuum left by the death of the mining and manufacturing industries in many working-class communities.

She said it meant a “small, significant and growing minority” of children were being raised in families with low expectations and a level of poverty “mirroring the times of Dickens”.

It was “next to impossible”, she added, for schools to counter the effect of serious deprivation, family breakdown and a lack of parenting skills in many communities.

Her comments follow the publication of figures showing nearly three million children still live below the poverty line in Britain. Ministers have admitted there is little chance of hitting their target to half child poverty by 2011.

It also comes amid fears that children’s education chances are still too strongly linked to family background.

Private schools extended their lead over the state sector in GCSE and A-levels this summer. And figures published this week by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development showed the UK had more teenagers out of work and without a college place than almost any other developed nation.

In her speech, Mrs Ward said: “I am talking about perfectly healthy children who enter school not yet toilet-trained.

“Children who cannot dress themselves, children who only know how to eat with a spoon and fingers, and have never sat around a table to enjoy a home-cooked family meal. Children who think that the word ‘no’ means if you throw a wobbly it will miraculously turn into yes.

“Children who get themselves, and sometimes their younger siblings, up in the morning. Children who bring themselves to school at very young ages. Children who sometimes don’t know who will be at home when they get home – if anyone. Children who don’t know exactly who the father figure is in the home from month to month.”

She added: “I know of a pupil who actually saw, from the classroom window during a lesson, his house door being kicked in and his dad being led out of the door in handcuffs – this was during Sats week. He did not achieve the level he should have. Are we surprised?”

Doncaster has already been at the centre of a series of child protection controversies. The local council was criticised in a damning report recently following the deaths of five children known to the authority. And last week police and social services came under fire for failing to stop two brothers in the nearby former pit village of Edlington terrorising the local community, culminating in a savage attack on two boys.

Mrs Ward, who has just been appointed president of the ATL, the third biggest teaching union, said low expectations had been created among parents following the decline of heavy industry. Typically male-dominated jobs have been replaced in many areas by part-time, low-paid service jobs filled by women, she said.

Speaking in central London on Wednesday, she said: “Teachers all over the country are working in areas like this. Areas where often more than half the children receive free school meals, where one in ten of the school population is on the at risk register, where 10 per cent, or more, of the children in each class have some form of special need.

“These children come from some of our poorest communities, starting school with the huge weight of deprivation on their shoulders, and it can be next to impossible to counteract the effects of such deprivation. I would like to stress I am not talking about the whole of our school population, but a small, significant and growing minority.”

The comments come as a survey published today found more than a third of parents believed Labour had failed to live up to its election pledges on education.

Almost nine in 10 said all political parties hyped up their promises to secure votes, according to the study by the charity Edge, although most parents did not believe the Conservatives would fulfil their pledges to make schooling a priority.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “There has been an enormous programme of social reform over the past 10 years that has lifted 500,000 children out of poverty and in June the Government enshrined in legislation it's commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

"Most three and four year-olds now access free childcare, thanks to £3 billion of annual funding by Government, which helps many parents get back to work. We have also committed to spending around £2 billion more by 2010 on public services aimed at breaking cycles of deprivation - key to meeting our 2020 target. These focus on childcare, raising attainment, improving schools, reducing health inequalities and improving school transport.” continues here

Pensioners risk health to curb rising fuel bills

Millions of older people are risking their health and lives by cutting back on heating as energy bills soar, it emerged last night.

Pensioners saw gas bills jump 55 per cent and electricity charges surge 36 per cent in the two years to April 2007, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.

The think-tank claims this led to older households deciding to use 10 per cent less energy to help them afford their bills.
But even with this drastic measure, they were still having to spend an extra 22 per cent on heat and light. Around 22,400 pensioners died in the cold winter of 2007 - the most in four years.

The findings will put pressure on energy firms, the regulator Ofgem and ministers to protect the vulnerable this winter.

Wholesale gas and electricity prices have slumped over the past year, but only a fraction of the fall has come off bills.

Official customer body Consumer Focus urged the Government to make energy firms pass on the falls to consumers.

Its energy expert Jonathan Stearn said: 'It is shameful that vulnerable pensioners' bills have gone up, despite them having to turn down their heating to cut costs.

'Cutting back on heating to avoid high bills could put the health of many at risk this winter.

'If the suppliers don't act, the Government must take action.'

Millions of pensioners are among the 5.4million people in fuel poverty - where households spend at least 10 per cent of their income on fuel.

Many have to choose between heating and eating. The situation has escalated because spiralling energy bills have outpaced increases in the state pension.

Age Concern and Help the Aged, which merged this year, said further price rises since the survey took place have made things worse.

The charity revealed that some pensioners were staying in bed to reduce the amount they spent on heating.

Andrew Harrop, head of public policy at the charity, which commissioned the report, said: 'Shockingly, while poorer pensioners are spending more on energy, they are reducing the amount of energy they buy. Vulnerable older people could be putting their health at risk to cut costs.'

The number of people who had their electricity cut off last year for not paying the bill rose by 9 per cent to 2,891.

The number repaying electricity arrears - 1.3million - is down by 3 per cent. Those behind on their gas bills rose by 2 per cent to 800,000. continues here

Millions of consumers 'ripped off by energy companies' as watchdog orders end to overcharging

Power giants are ripping off more than nine million households, according to the energy watchdog.

Some 5.9million customers with prepayment meters are being charged on average £118 a year more to stay warm than those who pay by direct debit.

But the 'big six' power companies could be raking in as much as £113million extra a month, much of it from poorer families and pensioners who are not signed up to the cheapest online deals, the National Housing Federation warned.

The scandal was uncovered by the industry regulator Ofgem yesterday, following an eight-month probe into spiralling charges imposed earlier this year.

It also found that some four million people who are not linked to the gas mains have been overcharged by £55 a year for their electricity.

Despite its findings, Ofgem failed to order an immediate halt in pre-pay meter charges, a decision-that drew condemnation from campaigners.

The regulator has given power suppliers until Christmas to make voluntary changes or face further investigation by the Competition Commission, which could take months.

British firms will have to pay 400 per cent more then French rivals for power

The National Housing Federation, which represents local housing associations, described Ofgem's response as 'deeply disappointing'.

Its chief executive David Orr complained: 'This was Ofgem's big chance to show that it was a regulator with teeth but it has fluffed it.

'Asking fat cat energy companies to do the right thing by the fuel poor is like asking Dracula to look after a blood bank.'

Tory business spokesman Alan Duncan said: 'These are completely unacceptable commercial practices which the Government should have cracked down on months ago.'

Ofgem began investigating British Gas, Eon, Npower, Scottish & Southern Energy, EDF and Scottish Power in February after all six imposed hikes of up to 25 per cent in bills.

It has cleared the firms of operating a cartel, rigging prices or imposing unjustified increases.

However, it found evidence of serious failures to offer millions of customers a fair deal.

Ofgem found the price difference between paying by PPM and direct debit has surged from around £80 to £118 since 2005. The difference between paying quarterly and by direct debit has doubled to £80.

It is also concerned that millions who choose to pay by cash or cheque on a quarterly basis are also being charged more than those on direct debit.

Its chief executive, Alistair Buchanan, said: 'Initial findings from our energy market probe give us grounds to demand that companies end practices that hinder customers, especially the vulnerable, from getting the best deal. continues here