Headteacher's heartbreak at 'hungry child' who didn't want to worry his parents

Elliott* was 'asking for leftovers rather than worrying his family' for food

Elliott waits until all of his classmates have returned to their lessons before he sneaks back into the canteen. He wants to be sure no-one spots him as he casually makes his way over to the staff to ask what they're doing with the leftovers from lunch.

He's been to see the receptionist three times this week to ask if he qualifies for free school meals. The 12-year-old is ravenously hungry but doesn't want to add any additional worry to his parents' load. So he doesn't ask them about food. Instead he just tries to quiet his aching stomach when it rumbles in class.

Headteacher Rebecca Bakewell has shared the heartbreaking true story - although Elliot is not his real name - in a bid to help BirminghamLive raise awareness that more needs to be done to help with child poverty in the city. At City Academy, she says she is conscious that hardship is becoming more prevalent in the community.

Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency

Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:

1. End the two-child benefit cap
2. Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
3. Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
4. Protect children’s and youth services
5. Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
6. Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
7. Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
8. Provide free public travel for young people

You can see why in more detail here.

Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.

What you can do to help.

Read more: 10,000 and counting - record number of homeless kids in city as scandal worsens

Just before school broke up she told BirminghamLive: "Recently, we noticed that one student was visiting reception each day to ask them to check if he qualified for free school meals, and that he was also hanging around the canteen after lunch to ask the catering staff what they did with left-over food.

"When we spoke to him about this, he admitted he was hungry - but had not wanted to mention it at home, as he did not want to add to his parents’ worries."

When the school first set up a free breakfast club, there were around 20 children who turned up to use it. Now the number is a regular 100 each day. Over the summer, the school gave food vouchers to all children eligible for free school meals in a bid to help families through the long weeks of the holidays.

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She added: "We continually review the status of our families for their entitlement to free school meals but we find, even for families who do not qualify, a greater number are slipping into household poverty.

"It is hard to quantify the impact on a child’s mental health, but we do feel, anecdotally, we are seeing greater numbers of students struggling with anxiety. These are children trying to manage adults’ problems and it is heartbreaking. Making our pastoral team very accessible, and offering students the time to talk, to feel heard and supported, is therefore really important.

"Our aim is to provide sanctuary; a school environment in which they feel warm, safe and cared for by adults they can trust; and help to fulfil their basic needs. But we also want to offer hope, opportunity and experiences that can raise their expectations and ambitions for life. They need to believe life can be better, and it is our job to instil that belief each and every day."