Tackling Child Poverty: The Way Forward 2021
Online Event 6 May 2021, 9:00am - 4:00pm
Day 1
8:30am
Online Registration
9:35am
Chair’s Welcome Address
James Raddings, Member, Institute of Government & Public Policy
9:40am
Keynote Address: Understanding The Impact Of Coronavirus On Low-Income Families And Children
- How were families doing before the pandemic?
- What has been the impact of a fall in income or rise in living costs and the effectiveness of sources of support
- Non-financial impacts of the pandemic such as difficult living conditions, home-schooling children and mental health problems- case studies from COSD
- What needs to happen next?
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive Officer, Child Poverty Action Group
10:00am
Working together to provide immediate relief and create long term change for the children who need us most
- The necessity of partnership working - why children living in poverty need us to put aside our differences and collaborate for a brighter future
- What we have learnt about how to grow a successful partnership (and what not to do too!
- The pandemic has given us an opportunity to accelerate the growth of partnerships that could have taken years to build. Where are the opportunities for partnership in your area, and what difference could it make to your children?
Jane Malcolm, Chief Executive, Level Trust
10:20am
Tackling The Causes Of Poverty To Reduce Health Inequalities
- The State of Child Health report 2020: revealing a widening gap between the health of children from wealthy and deprived backgrounds
- The impact of government investment in services for children and families
- Making the case for a cross-department National child Health and Wellbeing Strategy to address and monitor child poverty and health inequalities
- Funding a child health workforce to meet demand and ensure that children and young people receive the best possible care
- Building and strengthening local, cross-sector services to reflect local need
Dr Simon Clark, College Vice-President for Policy, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
10:40am
Questions And Answers Session
11:05am
Break and Networking
11:35am
Tackling The Impact of Covid-19 On Children’s Food Provision
- Joining the Child Food Poverty Task Force to call on the Government to implement three National Food Strategy policy recommendations to support our most vulnerable children
- Meeting the need for long-lasting policy measures to ensure parents and children have access to a healthy diet
- Exploring children's experience of food insecurity by conducting a survey of households with children
- Levels of food insecurity during the pandemic compared to levels experienced before the pandemic
- Key recommendations for actions in the National Food Strategy: expanding the Free School Meal (FSM) scheme; extending the Holiday Activity and Food Programme and increasing the value of Healthy Start vouchers
Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation
11:55am
Case Study: Raising Awareness Of Child Poverty By Coordinating A Year Of Action Together With Local Charities And Businesses Through The No Child Left Behind Programme
- Highlighting and developing a greater understanding of the inequalities faced by children growing up in poverty
- Conducting a local needs assessment to assess the challenges faced by children growing up in poverty such as poorer education attainment, higher rates of obesity, higher risk of being victims of crime and mental health issues
- Building on existing relationships with public sector partners and local community and voluntary sector organisations
- Establishing new ways of working to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and young people such as building strengths-based relationships and taking a restorative practice approach
- The impact of the programme, sustaining the new approach and lessons learned
Darren Knight, Executive Director for People and Change, Cheltenham Borough Council
12:15pm
Academic Perspective: University of East London
Prof Eva Lloyd OBE PhD, Professor of Early Childhood, Director The International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare - ICMEC, School of Education and Communities, Visiting Professor, University of East London
12:35pm
Questions And Answers Session
12:55pm
Lunch And Networking
1:40pm
Tackling Housing To Give Children A Fair Start In Life
- The effects of bad housing on physical health: increasing the likelihood of developing respiratory problems such as asthma or bronchitis or contracting a life-threatening disease such as tuberculosis or meningitis
- Mental health problems in homeless children and children living in overcrowded and unfit housing
- The impact of poor housing on children’s ability to learn at school and study at home
- Lower education attainment and health problems associated with bad housing and their impact on opportunities in adulthood
- Case study examples of families living in poor housing conditions
Polly Neate, Chief Executive, Shelter UK
2:00pm
Case Study: Examining The Disproportionate Impact Of School Exclusions On Children Living In Poverty And Black Caribbean and Gypsy, Roma Traveller Children In London
- The impact of exclusions on children and their parents and the process for reviewing exclusions
- Circumstances for children being excluded: children’s individual needs; home circumstances; schools and policy-making
- The impact of poverty on a child’s experience of school and ability to engage in learning and behaviour: paying for essentials; access to computers and the internet and school costs
- Poverty and race data regarding the proportion of black children and children eligible for free school meals being excluded
- Key recommendations for improving the system of and outcomes from school exclusions
Katherine Hill, Strategic Project Manager, 4in10
2:20pm
Shaping a Better Future: Developing a Recovery That Reduces Poverty
- Transforming the world of work: why a ‘good jobs’ recovery is vital to turning back the tide of child poverty and how we achieve it
- Doubling down on levelling up: constructing a recovery that narrows inequality and improves prospects in the hardest hit places
- Investment and stimulus: what kind of stimulus do we need to ensure a strong recovery which raises living standards for families struggling to get by
Helen Barnard, Director, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
2:40pm
Questions and Answers Session
3:00pm
Chair’s Summary And Close
3:00pm
Consultation