Login
Login
The Challenge
Every child deserves a fantastic education, but growing up in poverty means this is out of reach for many kids. The educational gap between children living in poverty and those who are not is stark across all ages, from early child development through to tertiary education. This gap has significant and life-long impacts.
The Facts
- By age 7, children living in poverty have lost on average the equivalent of over a year of schooling.
- Poverty in the first year of life is linked to significantly lower reading and numeracy scores by Year 3, equivalent to a quarter to a full year of lost learning.
- Children from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds consistently score lower on NAPLAN across all year levels and domains.
- 1 in 3 children who grow up in poverty do not finish high school.
- The annual economic cost of child poverty in NSW is $60 billion. A third of this relates to education and employment.
Our Position
Every child deserves access to a fantastic education, no matter their starting point. We need a system that enables educational equity, addressing the educational, health and wellbeing needs of children and their families – giving every child the best chance to thrive.
Current Policy Priorities
Policy Priority
Description
Reduce the impacts of poverty and inequality
- Greater and more sustainable funding for critical social infrastructure.
- Reduce non-financial barriers for accessing education e.g disability, language barriers, domestic and family violence, and transport.
- Reduce barriers to engaging in pathways out of education.
Strengthen the supports within the education system
- Better incorporate poverty knowledge and measures into Departmental planning, policies and systems.
- Provide essential community-based supports for children with disability and their families that exist outside of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Better integrate existing health, education and social supports
- Invest in wellbeing hubs within schools or hubs that are deeply connected with schools.
- Improve access to health and social services for children and their families by investing in Linker roles in regions with the highest concentrations of disadvantage in NSW.