Poverty Affecting Children's Overall Well-Being And Achievement At School

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Additionally, poverty is a particular factor which can pose a risk to children’s overall well-being and achievement at school. Evidence has shown that poor children are more likely, than their wealthy counterparts, to develop emotional problems, such as depression, and behavioural problems, such as aggression (Bornstein and Bradley, 2012, cited in Montgomery and Oates, 2015 section 2.2); this in turn, may cause difficulties at school where there is a stronger demand for compliance and will also affect the development of relationships with others. Furthermore, Ridge (2006, cited in Montgomery and Oates, 2015 section 2.2) argues that poverty may bring humiliation to children at school, where they compare their lives with those of their more affluent …show more content…

A report by the UCL Institute of Health Equity (2014) argues that schools can promote protective factors to help prevent against risk factors, thus, building children’s resilience; these protective factors include, promoting better bonds between parents and their children, encouraging healthy behaviours, recognising achievements and ensuring a smooth transition into school. They suggest that children who are able to build resilience in the presence of adversity will have better mental wellbeing and higher achievement at school. Families and Schools Together is an early intervention programme implemented in schools in highly deprived areas, working with parents and carers to boost their children’s resilience, the parent-child bond and basic academic skills. Some key findings from the programme include an observed reduction in children’s emotional symptoms, behavioural problems, peer difficulties, and better parent-child relationships (UCL Institute of Health Equity, 2014). Overall, research suggests that children who have a nurturing home environment, have experienced some mild stress or have developed resilience will be better equipped to cope with challenges they may face at …show more content…

Children starting school need to be able to communicate to express their needs and feelings, listen to instructions from their teachers and school staff and communicate effectively with their peers. In the UK, children face significant demands on their communication skills. For those starting in reception, the Early Years Foundation Stage (Department for Education, 2014a) goals include expressing themselves effectively and using past, present and future tenses whilst those starting in year one (Department for Education, 2014b) are expected to develop, amongst other skills, the ability to maintain and monitor the interest of the listener and consider and evaluate different viewpoints whilst building on

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