As the Government prepares to publish its Child Poverty Strategy, a new roundtable report from the Academy of Medical Sciences and British Academy warns that without addressing the profound impacts of poverty on health outcomes, efforts to support children risk falling short.
Building on the significant decision in the Budget to lift the two-child benefit cap and with publication of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy, the Academy of Medical Sciences warns that more is needed to address the devastating health consequences of poverty - including early intervention and coordinated action across departments - alongside income support. It comes as the Academy publishes a new roundtable report with the British Academy examining factors affecting children’s opportunities to thrive in school.
The report is part of the Academy of Medical Sciences’ extensive work around child health, prevention and early intervention, which consistently highlights how poverty underpins adverse health outcomes from birth – affecting children’s development and their physical and mental wellbeing. It builds on the British Academy’s programme on childhood, and experts conclude that reducing and alleviating child poverty requires placing health front and centre of any strategy.
Drawing on evidence from experts across health, education and social sciences, convened by the Academies, this latest work identifies key factors affecting children’s opportunities to thrive in school - including attendance, school inclusion practices, inequities and regional disparities, mental health support, peer relationships, teacher-pupil connections and the home learning environment. Critically, experts emphasise that schools alone cannot address the wider health and social inequities they face – but are meeting the consequences of poverty every day.
The report highlights that children experiencing poverty and poor parental mental health have 72% lower odds of achieving positive outcomes. This leaves them at far greater risk of failing GCSEs, experiencing ill health and developing behavioural problems. Children from the poorest families also face significant health disadvantages, including higher rates of mental health problems, lower happiness and wellbeing and greater difficulty managing their emotions and behaviours.
It also underlines growing regional disparities in both health outcomes and school funding, driven by structural inequalities in access to quality healthcare, adequate housing and resources. Between 2017 and 2022, children in the most affluent schools saw bigger real-term funding increases (8-9%) than those in the most deprived schools (5%). These inequalities compound the health disadvantages that children in poorer areas already face, impacting their development, wellbeing and educational outcomes.
Professor Rosalind Smyth CBE FMedSci, Vice President (Clinical) of the Academy of Medical Sciences Professor of Child Health at UCL and co-chair of the report, said: “Lifting the two-child benefit cap will help hundreds of thousands of children and the Child Poverty Strategy presents a crucial opportunity to build on this. Child poverty has devastating health consequences that begin before birth and compound throughout life – affecting physical and mental health, education and development and their access to healthcare. If we are to make real progress in breaking down the barriers to opportunity for every child and improve lifelong health, the Government must lead a genuine, coordinated effort to address the root causes of poverty.”
Report co-chair Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore FRS FBA FMedSci, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, said: “The evidence is compelling. Individual health issues – whether poor nutrition, respiratory problems or mental health challenges – cannot be effectively tackled without addressing the underlying poverty that drives them. Schools are doing their best to support children, but they’re meeting the health consequences of poverty every day and cannot fix these structural inequalities alone. It requires cross-government collaboration, with health, education, housing and social policy working together if we’re serious about giving every child the opportunity to thrive.”
The report shows the importance of evidence-based interventions that address the root causes of poverty’s impact on child health, and the critical role of services that support families and schools, including health visiting and school nursing. However, experts noted concerning declines in these vital services – with health visitor numbers at an all-time low and only 44% of primary schools having any provision of school nurses – leaving gaps in the health support that children and families need.
The findings add to the Academy’s extensive work on child health, particularly its emphasis on early intervention and prevention in the early years. The Academy has repeatedly highlighted the links between social inequity, poor child health and lifelong impacts - making the case for both immediate support and systemic joined-up action to address structural inequalities.
Its evidence base consistently shows that addressing poverty is essential to improving child health – and that tackling specific health issues like poor nutrition, respiratory problems or mental health in isolation, without addressing the underlying poverty, undermines interventions and leaves children trapped in cycles of poor health and educational disadvantage.
Further information
- Read the report
- The roundtable was funded by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology