Nursery World - Children's charities slam child poverty strategy

Charities have criticised the Government’s new child poverty strategy for lacking ambition, containing no new ideas, and being weak on areas such as affordable housing and the living wage.

The Government’s draft child poverty strategy, published today, covers the period 2014 – 2017, alongside an evidence review, which sets out to identify the root causes of child poverty.

Iain Duncan Smith, who launched the strategy with the Liberal Democrat schools minister David Laws, said that raising educational attainment was the key to breaking the cycle of poor children growing up to become poor adults.

iain-duncan-smithw ‘Through our investment in early years and the pupil premium, we are determined to give youngsters the best possible start, with schools seen by struggling families as the route to a better life for their children,’ Mr Duncan Smith said. ‘By tackling the barriers faced by disadvantaged children, raising educational attainment, and leaving no child behind, we can break the destructive cycle of poverty.’

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included