Students drive initiative to help children in poverty
After watching a Dispatches documentary called ‘Growing Up Poor’ in a recent PSHCE lesson, Form 8W decided it was an issue worth exploring and worked together to find out more.
Their discoveries were shared with senior students in a mature and insightful presentation looking at the lifestyles and opportunities enjoyed by many of us and the stark comparison for those children living in poverty whose wellbeing and future life chances are so affected by their current reality.
The statistics:
- Over four million children in the UK are living in poverty today
- That’s one in three, or around nine in the average classroom
- This number is set to rise to five million by the end of 2020
- Shockingly, two thirds of children living in poverty have at least one parent in work
- Many of the country’s poorest areas are just a few miles from our school in Worsley.
As a result of their discoveries, Bridgewater’s Year 8 students are driving a sweet stall fundraising initiative to raise money for Wood Street Mission.
The Manchester charity, who are commemorating 150 years of supporting children and families living in poverty, not only provide support for families who need help with day to day essentials, but raise awareness of the thousands of children in the area that feel the brutal impact of poverty every day.
Anna Thrush, Head of English and 8W Form Tutor said “The initiative that the students have shown is just wonderful. I’m incredibly proud to see how seriously they take their personal and social responsibilities and the charity have been especially touched by this gesture.”
As one of Bridgewater’s chosen charities, fundraising is not the only way the school continues to provide support. Regular collections of clothes, bedding, towels, toys and toiletries are all items that the charity desperately needs. Indeed, thanks to recent donations from parents and staff, we were able to take a minibus full of much needed items including books & uniform, helping the charity develop their Books Forever and SmartStart projects, which last year provided nearly 3,200 children with brand new uniform & additional items of stationery and sports kit to help them fit in and achieve at school.
