For many families, as we approach the return to school, thoughts turn to stationery, schoolbags, new shoes, haircuts and more of what we see as ‘typical’ costs.
While the costs combined are significant, they pale in comparison to the costs facing many families this year. These are the cost-of-living expenses for families already living far below the breadline.
Teacher Katie Chance spoke on air with Ollie and Dymphna about the reality that each and every day in schools in Waterford, there are students who are going without.
In her experience, they are going without food, without clean running water, without the basics that many other households will take for granted.
Back-To-School Cost-Relieving Measures
Many schools try to relieve that cost with annual school uniform swaps, the new free schoolbook system, and the increasingly popular Breakfast Club across the county. However the day-to-day costs remain impossible for many families to meet.
Katie reflected on some of the mounting educational costs including the annual voluntary student contribution, in some cases the cost of the purchase or rental of a tablet device required by the school.
She also admitted that many teachers will assist students with the cost of lunch or with stationery, because they see first hand the challenges that students are battling.
Voluntary Contribution Fee
She said ‘some students are going without a locker because they haven’t paid their voluntary contribution fee.’ She voiced her frustration over this, when she says ‘students in Waterford are hungry. They are coming to school hungry because they haven’t eaten since school the day before.’
As a teacher, she said it is incredibly difficult to ask students to buy extra folders for notes or extra copies, when pupils are taking extra from the Breakfast Club just to ensure they have something to eat at home later that day.
This sobering interview is a heartfelt plea from Ms Chance for society to do more, to be better, and to assist students in breaking the cycle of poverty endemic in schools in Waterford.
Katie, who has taught in schools across Waterford City and County appealed to parents to contact the school if they know there are financial barriers. Additionally, she advised that charities such as Barnardos and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are in a position to help.
‘While there is an element of pride,’ she said, ‘you are doing this for your child.’ ‘We need to do more to help students break this cycle’ of poverty in Waterford.
