References

Action for Children (2023) How is the cost of living crisis impacting children? Available at: How is the cost of living crisis impacting children?(Accessed: 8 January 2025).

Barnardos (2022) At what cost? The impact of the cost-of-living on children and young people. Available at: Cost-of-living report: impacts on children and young people(Accessed: 8 January 2025).

Department for Education (2024) National behaviour survey Findings from Academic Year 2022/23. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6628dd9bdb4b9f0448a7e584/National_behaviour_survey_academic_year_2022_to_2023.pdf (Accessed: 8 January 2025).

Department for Education (2024) Behaviour in Schools Advice for headteachers and school staff. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ce3721e1bdec001a3221fe/Behaviour_in_schools_-_advice_for_headteachers_and_school_staff_Feb_2024.pdf (Accessed: 8 January 2025).

Morrissey, F. (2023) ‘ Freya Morrissey, our learning behaviours specialist and secondary English and literacy leader, explores Recommendation six of the ​“Improving Behaviour in Schools” guidance report: ​‘Consistency is Key’, Education Endowment Foundation, 16 November. Available at: EEF blog: Managing behaviour – the challenge of consistency | EEF (Accessed: 8 January 2025).

NSPCC (2024) 75% of parents of children under five years old are anxious about their child’s mental health. Available at: Three in four parents of children under five years old are anxious about their child’s mental health(Accessed: 8 January 2025).

Sibieta, L. (2024) ‘ The latest picture on school funding and costs in England’, IFS, 1 March. Available at: The latest picture on school funding and costs in England | Institute for Fiscal Studies(Accessed: 8 January 2025).

UNICEF (2024) New Survey: Nearly 90% of GB parents are worried for their children’s future life chances – UNICEF UK calls for urgent reset from new Government. Available at: New Survey: Nearly 90% of GB parents are worried for their children's future life chances – UNICEF UK calls for urgent reset from new Government(Accessed: 8 January 2025).

Villa, C. (2024) ‘ How cuts to youth clubs affected teen crime and education’, IFS, 24 November. Available at: How cuts to youth clubs affected teen crime and education | Institute for Fiscal Studies (Accessed: 8 January 2025).

By Alex Summerscales

At 24AStar our mission is to develop positive values in the youth by creating an environment to express themselves and develop their own self esteem. But we understand that a child’s upbringing can drastically shape them as a human. This report will delve into the challenges the youth face in their school, home and community life. Towards the end of this report, we will state how 24AStar aims to positively educate and change their mind which will enable them to be confident and have a higher self-esteem.

Being in school is one of the most important aspects of a child’ s life as such a large amount of a child’s day is spent there. School is important because it enables children to interact with others which helps develop their social skills. It teaches them the importance of routines and habit building, it stimulates them mentally and physically. Unfortunately however it has been reported that schools aren’t always the easiest environment in which to get the most out of some children. In May 2023, 76% of teachers reported that misbehaviour stopped or interrupted teaching in at least some lessons in the past week. Comparing across survey waves, this is an increase from 64% in June 2022.DfE (2024). A 12% increase in just under a year is a substantial increase which leads to an alarming amount of disruption in a classroom.

Figures also showed that, on average, in May 2023, teachers reported that for every 30 minutes of lesson time, 7 minutes were lost due to misbehaviour, DfE (2024). It is upsetting to see the current rate of lost lesson time as everyone knows the importance of education. But there are many factors which have lead to this amount of lesson time being lost. One factor is the decreasing amount of teaching assistants working in classrooms. Teacher assistants are important as they can help behaviour manage the class and they also provide specific interventions with the children who need their help the most in classrooms. When asked whether the number of teaching assistants at their school was sufficient to help manage pupil behaviour, 19% of school leaders and teachers felt this was the case whilst 77% felt the numbers were not sufficient (3% responded ‘don’t know). Teachers were more likely than school leaders to report that the numbers of teaching assistants were not sufficient (79% vs. 70%). DfE (2024). This figure is high but perhaps it is high due to classroom teachers personally noticing a decreasing amount of teaching assistants working with them and in their class.

When there are less teacher assistants and generally less staff in a school, schools can find it difficult to run smoothly and provide a nurturing environment for all children. The decrease in school staff unfortunately comes down to less primary school funding and the need to stretch the finances further in other areas of the school. Sibieta (2024) found, following a substantial rise over the 2000s, total school spending per pupil fell by 9% in real terms in England between 2009–10 and 2019–20. This fall in school spending per pupil represents the largest and most sustained cut in school spending per pupil in England in at least 40 years, and probably a lot longer. The more funding and finances available in schools, results in children having more opportunities.

A lack of funding could also indirectly effect the behaviour of some students in a school. Morrissey (2023) stated Managing misbehaviour is currently a particularly challenging issue for many schools. Overall, 22% of pupils said that they had been a victim of bullying for any reason in the past 12 months, DfE (2024).Where behaviour is poor, pupils can suffer from issues as diverse as lost learning time, child-on-child abuse, anxiety, bullying, violence, and distress DfE (2024). The aims of any response to misbehaviour should be to maintain the culture of the school, restore a calm and safe environment in which all pupils can learn and thrive, and prevent the recurrence of misbehaviour DfE (2024). Misbehaviour unfortunately will always happen in school but as adults we need to ensure that issues don’t reoccur and that the children causing any issues get the adequate interventions to equip them with the knowledge and coping mechanisms to ensure the issue doesn't become reoccurring.

Life at home can also be extremely difficult for some children. Not every child has the privilege of growing up in a steady household with nurture and love. Most parents (57%) said that parenting is harder now than when they were children. Many parents say they don’t always know where to go for expert support, with half (53%) relying on advice from family members and two in five (41%) relying on friends NSPCC (2024). Parents could be struggling to have the knowledge and resources to help their children. This isn't the fault of the parent but could explain why children come into educational settings not knowing the rights and wrongs. On the other hand some parents do try and make a stimulating environment for their children however one parent responded to a UNICEF (2024) survey stating they “Lack new educational toys and books because they’re too expensive, no days out because it is also too expensive, can only just afford to buy second hand clothes and shoes for the children…Food choices are worse as they’re all that we can afford.” It is sad to see that the intention of the parent to help their child is there but they just can’t financially afford to keep up with the expense of stimulating them.

Action for Children (2023) found that nearly half (47%) of children from low-income families we surveyed told us that they worry about their family’s finances. Children's stress levels are rising, and it’s presenting itself through challenging behaviours at home and at school. More than two thirds of parents (67%) cited learning development as a cause for concern. For parents of six to 11-year-olds, 56% said they were anxious about their child’s mental health NSPCC (2024).

Growing up in poverty can harm children’s life chances, limiting their opportunities, holding them back in education, or leading to worse physical and mental health outcomes, Barnardos (2022). Throughout the years these households would typically rely on institutions such as community youth clubs to help provide a safe space for their children. Villa (2024) stated, Youth clubs are free after-school programmes for local teenagers. These spaces offer a safe environment to spend time with friends outside of school hours, access the support of youth workers, and participate in workshops and activities, often including music or sports. Unfortunately due to the lack of funding these precious spaces are closing down. Villa (2024) also stated, Young people who lost access to a youth club were 14% more likely to engage in criminal activity in the six years following closure: the offending rate (the fraction of residents aged 10 to 17 who commit a crime each year) went from 14 per 1,000 to 16 per 1,000.

Life is difficult for the next generation of children. There is an ever increasing lack of funding and adequate safe spaces for children to develop themselves. As stated earlier, at 24AStar our mission is to develop positive values in the youth by creating an environment to express themselves and develop their own self-esteem. We are conscious that we are a long way off helping reduce every issue we have mentioned above but we will strive over time to positively influence a child's life at school, home and in their community.

The first way 24AStar will help the children of tomorrow is by releasing our ‘Super Stars Package’. The objective for our package “Super Stars” is to support school staff and pastoral workers by producing a series of sessions to aid them in a range of behavioural circumstances. This package contains a resource called the Child Development Lessons. The Child Development Lessons consist of 20 lessons, each lasting about 15 minutes. Each lesson contains written, video and activity tasks. Some themes of the lessons are anxiety, dealing with emotions, bullying, listening skills, communication and staying safe in school to name just a few. We believe the Child Development Lessons along with all the other resources in the ‘Super Stars Package’ are a cost effective, easy to use, high quality resource for any member off staff to use help manage your children in your school.

We thank you for taking the time to read this blog today, If you are interested to learn more about the ‘Super Stars Package’ or any of the other resources available at 24AStar, then please feel free to view our shop which can be accessed by pressing the “Shop” button below.