ONE in 10 parents living in poverty say that their child has been bullied as a result of their economic conditions, according to new research by charity Parentkind.

During a poll of 2,000 parents living on the lowest incomes, almost a quarter reported going into debt covering expenses such as transport and school trips — spending an average of £2,000 a year on school costs.

One in 20 children living in poverty go to school hungry, the poll found, while one in eight relied on food parcels from their child’s school. 

A tenth of parents in poverty said their children had been bullied for being poor — equivalent to half a million children. 

Parentkind have called on the government to introduce a target for reducing school costs for the poorest parents.

Chief executive Jason Elsom said that pledging to halve school costs over the next five years is a “good first step.”

“If school was free for these parents, it would be the equivalent of increasing household budgets for the poorest families by a fifth or more,” he said.

The charity has sent the report to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall ahead of the publication of Labour’s Child Poverty Strategy. 

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “With nine children in every class of 30 growing up in poverty, teachers and school leaders see the very real impact this has on our children and young people.

“The strategy is a huge opportunity for government to act decisively to lift thousands of families out of poverty, and to ensure that every child has the best chance in school.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are determined to tackle the scourge of child poverty and break the unfair link between background and opportunity.

“The first 750 schools will begin offering free breakfast clubs from April, backed by over £30 million, and we are capping the number of branded school uniform items to keep the costs down for parents.

“More widely we have increased pupil premium funding to over £2.9 billion for the fiscal year 24-25, and the Child Poverty Taskforce is working to deliver an ambitious strategy to tackle challenges felt by those living in poverty.”