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THE National Education Union (NEU) and the Daily Mirror have launched an appeal to supply remote learning materials to pupils whose homes do not have them.
About 4.2 million children are growing up in poverty, an average of nine pupils in every class of 30, with many more families being pushed into hardship by job losses, illness and changing circumstances during the Covid-19 crisis, according to the Child Poverty Action Group.
The NEU has warned that too many children do not have the tools for home learning.
While schools and colleges have been doing everything they can to meet this need, they were already under considerable financial strain before the pandemic hit, the union said.
NEU joint general secretaries Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted said in a statement: “Pupils cannot learn if they do not have paper to write on and pens to write with.
“They cannot engage in creative learning if they lack crayons and glue. Cardboard and toilet paper are not substitutes for exercise books.”
Donations to the Help a Child to Learn appeal can be made at www.helpachildtolearn.com.