Bitesize Research: Impact Of Food Insecurity On Students

By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good week! This week I was really interested in seeing a report of some research being published by the Institute of Education about how food insecurity, the use of food banks and the cost of living crisis influences student attainment and mental health.

Objectives: To understand the impact of food insecurity and reliance on food banks on student attainment and mental health.

Summary: 

• The authors of the study discovered that students whose families rely on food banks on average achieve half a grade lower than expected in their GCSEs.

• The report also looked at the mental health of the parents and students who started using food banks during the pandemic. 63% of parents and 53% of students reported poor mental health, compared to 33% and 44% respectively of those who do not rely upon food banks.

• The authors conclude that this is an ongoing legacy of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. They also remark that many food insecure students might not technically be categorised as requiring free school meals.

• Overall, they conclude that 1 in 10 students nationally could be classified as food insecure.

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

• How might we support students who could be in difficult situations with food insecurity and the cost of living crisis?

• How well do I know my pupil premium students? What might their specific needs be?

• What support do I need further to work with students who might need help?

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!