Stark new research has laid bare how a lack of access to hygiene products due to poverty is forcing children out of the classroom, with UK teachers reporting that it’s causing pupils to miss an average of 6.5 school days per year. The result? Children missing out on vital learning, and struggling with mental health and socialising
As the government’s Child Poverty Taskforce prepares to publish its strategy, new research from laundry brand smol, with support from national charity, The Hygiene Bank, reveals a 68% year-on-year surge in state school teachers reporting daily instances of pupils experiencing hygiene poverty.
Teachers believe that the millions of children in hygiene poverty are more likely to experience academic underperformance (75%), bullying (85%), social isolation (84%) and poor physical health (80%) as families in poverty struggle with prioritising hygiene amidst rising costs. The findings reveal that teachers also believe that hygiene poverty is more stigmatised than any other type of poverty, with 78% saying it is stigmatised compared to the likes of food poverty (65%) leading to feelings of shame and embarrassment.
Teachers surveyed describe pupils who have, “come in [to school] with a filthy uniform after the summer holidays, indicating it had not been washed for 6 weeks”, with another explaining how, “a student cried in a support meeting because they felt embarrassed to have to ask for soap.”
Others told of pupils who had the “same clothes on for two weeks” and “never washed”, describing how other children “would not sit next to them”.
Beyond the classroom
The research has found that teachers are concerned about the impact of hygiene poverty on this generation’s future and, when asked about the long-term impact, 91% of teachers said they believe children experiencing hygiene poverty are likely to be impacted in later life. Of those, around 3 in 4 said it damages pupils’ future self-worth (76%) and mental health (75%). Furthermore, it also impacts their approach to hygiene and personal care (66%), ability to form friendships and relationships (65%), social skills (64%) and even future employability (42%).
A growing crisis in UK classrooms
Teachers say hygiene poverty is disrupting every aspect of school life, as more than 4 in 5 (89%) say pupils facing hygiene poverty find social integration harder than their peers – with over a third of teachers (39%) witnessing children avoiding eye contact and almost half seeing them sitting away from peers (49%).
Teachers are noting that children in hygiene poverty are avoiding PE (48%), isolating themselves from classmates, and over half (52%) being too embarrassed to attend school at all. In fact, more than 4 in 5 (84%) teachers believe these students are more likely to miss school than their peers.
Staff also report a worrying range of emotional and behavioural signs amongst pupils affected by hygiene poverty including low self-esteem (68%), low mood and anxiety (55%), visible distress (30%) and even lashing out verbally and/or physically (28%).
A Back to School window with a difference
smol and The Hygiene Bank have today revealed “Marked Absent” – a Back to School window with a stark difference, unveiled to the public in central London. The window display features five mannequins dressed in school uniforms donated anonymously by real children living in hygiene poverty.
In stark contrast to the bright, cheerful Back to School displays typical of the season, these mannequins stand with heads lowered, faces blank, accompanied by stories from real pupils and teachers about their experiences.
Located on Old Broad Street right in the heart of the City, the window will remain open to the public for a week, all with the aim of raising awareness of the issue and driving donations to smol’s Suds in Schools programme which has provided free mini-launderettes to more than 100 schools in the UK so far.
Part of the solution
The campaign aims to help the Suds in Schools programme roll out to further schools in need of support through donations to its Crowdfunder – with 95% of teachers saying that access to washing facilities would have a positive impact on children and families in hygiene poverty.
Beyond donations, smol is calling on the British public to write to their MP to demand that hygiene poverty is addressed in the Government’s upcoming Child Poverty Strategy, to ensure that the issue is tackled at a policy level beyond smol’s Suds in Schools programme. In addition, smol is encouraging the nation to speak up within their communities about hygiene poverty in a bid to help end the stigma around the issue.
Hilary Strong, Suds in Schools lead at smol, said: “Too many children are being ‘marked absent’; not just from the register, but from friendship groups, with their confidence, and with everyday childhood experiences, because they don’t have access to clean school uniforms.
“What’s clear from our research is that this is a growing issue, and it isn’t impacting a small minority – it’s one that is harming future generations.
“Access to essential hygiene isn’t a luxury, it’s a basic human right – one we must fight for the thousands of children across the UK. It’s vital that we push awareness of the issue and work with schools and communities to grow projects which support pupils and their families.
“That’s why we’re urging the public to support our Suds in Schools programme, and to nominate schools in need of laundry facilities to help us reach communities who need it most.”
Victoria Archer, a Deputy Headteacher at a London school, said: “Hygiene poverty has a huge impact on children, particularly as they get older. We see pupils who were once confident and engaged in class become withdrawn and quiet. Their friendships fade, they stop putting themselves forward, and their progress in school begins to slip. It’s all linked to a drop in confidence – and it’s heartbreaking to watch.
“A lot of people still don’t fully understand what hygiene poverty is, or how much it holds children back. It’s keeping them out of school. It’s damaging their confidence and limiting their future. It’s time this issue was properly addressed, because no child should miss out on their education because they don’t have access to clean clothes.”
Ruth Brock, CEO of The Hygiene Bank, said: “Hygiene poverty is holding children back from the very things that school should offer: learning, friendship, play, and confidence. No child should miss school because they don’t have access to a clean uniform, deodorant or basic hygiene products. At The Hygiene Bank, we see first-hand how shame around hygiene poverty isolates families, and why it’s so vital that we talk about it. Together with smol, we’re making this invisible crisis visible and calling on the public and policymakers alike to take action.”
To support smol’s Suds in Schools programme, members of the public can donate to the Marked Absent Crowdfunder, linked via QR code in the window or at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sudsinschools. You can also find out more, or nominate a school in need of a mini-launderette, via www.smol.com/markedabsent