No food, no bedding - Midland school worker opens up on job that 'will break you'

Passionate and experienced family support worker Sarah Clarke told BirminghamLive her heart goes "at great pelt" as she helps families tackling poverty, addiction and abuse

An experienced family worker in Solihull has said the "clock ticks" for children at the start of each school day as she helps families battling addiction, poverty and abuse. Sarah Clarke has worked as a family support worker at St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School in Smith's Wood, north Solihull, for 18 years.

As the school's sole family worker, Sarah's time is taken up with "checking, monitoring and safe guarding" its 215 pupils, 53 percent of whom are on free school meals. The school's vast playground and playing field is a rarity in this area and welcome break for families living in nearby tower blocks and on the estate.

"Schools are very stretched, that's reflected by the current climate" said Sarah as she helped at the school's HAF club (holiday activities and food club). The local authority funded club is a lifeline and with 70 registered children it is also a way for teachers to keep an eye on families they may worry about.

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: What happened when I asked Government ministers to act now on Birmingham child poverty

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The current poverty rate for Hodge Hill and Solihull North is 40 percent, an increased from its previous rate of 30.4 percent. Liam Byrne is MP for the constituency - which is one of the most impoverished areas in the country.

As we outlined in our report, 'Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency', Byrne exposed how the burgeoning gap between the richest and poorest has been allowed to grow, by political choice, with its impacts felt by the kids in his constituency.

In his book, The Inequality of Wealth, Byrne said: “Our country is in the midst of a moral emergency in which the top 1% have multiplied their wealth since 2010 by 31 times the wealth of everyone else. So sales of super yachts, luxury cars and private jets are at an all time high, at the same time as poverty is deepening. That cannot be right. We need a radical reset.”

To understand how schools on the frontline are tackling this crisis, BirminghamLive spent a day St John the Baptist, described as "calm oasis" by its headteacher and passionate governors. Chatting to us against the backdrop of happy screams and water fights, Sarah explained: "We have had families that have not got bedding, or are on a dirty mattress on the floor.

"Or parents with drug issues or alcohol." Like many we spoke to at the school, Sarah spoke of the punishing impact of Covid lockdowns on vulnerable families, which limited their ability to keep an eye on struggling children.

We recently reported how campaigners are pushing to cut down the six-week break English schools have every year to stop children suffering in the summer holiday 'slide.' A major report published in April, part of a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, highlighted how during the six-week break children from deprived backgrounds can put at risk through malnourishment, isolation, and extended periods of inactivity.

"Families face many challenges, including lack of affordable childcare and ‘holiday hunger’ as children do not receive the meals they receive for free at school" said the report. The club at St John's is run by "loved" Coach and PE teacher of 10 years Steve Byford and local teacher Sam Parnaby.

The club runs for three weeks in July and provides a hot lunch and range of acitivities. On the day we visited, children were playing with water activities, competing in a football match, drawing, colouring and relishing the school's valued green spaces.

Passionate and experienced, Sarah explained that the new centres opened by Solihull Council has provided some hope for family workers, but services to children remain disjointed, which allows families to fall through the cracks. Sarah highlighted the daily pressures include a lack of funding, stretched services, and reliance on online methods which reduces her ability to assess families face to face.

Want to take action? - Contact your MP!

"We had a family here a few years ago it took about eight referrals to get them removed. There's a lot of parents disguise, they know what to say, we need another one of me." And the worry is that this could have drastic consequences: "The clock is ticking, for me it's children's lives, it's getting up to home time my heart is going great pelt. They are going home after they have told me whatever in trust, it is not good. At some point it will happen on my watch, it is just a matter of time."

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