New research charting the attitudes of children to poverty in Britain shows that nearly half of all young people think missing out on school trips or not having the correct school uniform are the most telling indicators of being poor. (Wednesday 19 September 2007)

The research also reveals that a fifth of children think having a mobile phone is just as important as having a book to read at home. The survey also finds striking differences in the attitudes and experience of young people in different parts of Britain.

The research was commissioned by the Dare to Care: Make time to help end child poverty campaign and records the attitudes of children aged 7-16 towards poverty in this country. The specialist research involved face-to-face interviews with more than 700 children and was conducted during the summer by independent children’s research agency, LVQ.

The research is designed to underline how communities and individuals can make their own mark in helping to combat child poverty in this country through volunteering. Dare to Care aims to recruit 35,000 volunteers from October 2007 through to March 2008 to help combat child poverty.

Key findings include:

• Nearly half of children (44%) think that not being able to afford to go on a school trip is a sign of poverty

• 2 out of 5 children (40%) think that not having all the correct school uniform makes you poor

• Nearly a third of children (28%) think not being able to give a present to a friend at a birthday party is a sign of poverty

• A quarter of children say that going to school without breakfast (23%) or not having a safe place to play nearby (24%) makes you poor

• A fifth of children told researchers that not having a mobile phone (19%) or books to read at home (20%) can indicate poverty

Regional variations include:

• 78% of children in the North East felt not having a place to play safely was a sign of poverty compared to a UK average of 25%

• 47% of children from East Anglia and 37% of children from London think not having a mobile phone makes you poor (UK average -19%)

• 58% of children in the South West think not being able to give presents at a friend’s birthday party makes you poor compared to a UK average of 28%

• 31% of children from the West Midlands and London consider not being able to use a computer to do school work is a sign of poverty (UK average – 18%)

Dare to Care is run by CSV, the UK’s leading volunteering charity and the Campaign to End Child Poverty, a coalition of 90 organisations. Around 1 in 3 children (3.8 million) live in poverty in the UK, many well below the poverty line. The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world but efforts to change this can be successful.

Hilary Fisher, Director of the Campaign to End Child Poverty says: “It is interesting that for children it seems the visible indicators of poverty are the ones that they are most sensitive about. Not being able to afford to go on school trips or the correct uniform leads to uncomfortable questions from their peers and in some cases can lead to bullying.”

Sue Farrington, Director of Corporate Affairs at CSV, said: “People throughout the country have enormous potential to use their skills, time and energy to respond to what children are telling us are important indicators of poverty. Volunteers can run breakfast clubs, improve the reading skills of children, support families with debt, mentor pupils who are bullied and create safe places to play. Giving time can help end the poverty of experience that far too many children face in this country.”

To find out more about the Dare to Care campaign visit: www.daretocare.org.uk

To receive a breakdown of the research or for further details about Dare to Care contact: Paul Donohoe 020 7812 0037/ 0779 624 385 pdonohoe@csv.org.uk or Jason Tanner 020 7812 0038/ 07941 433 598 jtanner@csv.org.uk.

Notes for Editors

1. LVQ Research interviewed 727 children aged 7-16 through face to face interviews between 16-23 August 2007.

2. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Last year 227,000 people gave 5 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. CSV trains 12,705 people of all ages. www.csv.org.uk

3. The Campaign to End Child Poverty is a coalition of 90 organisations working to eradicate child poverty in the United Kingdom. It is formed from children's and other charities, social justice groups, faith-groups, trade unions and others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child poverty in the UK; working together for a society free from child poverty. www.endchildpoverty.org.uk 

4. Dare to Care has five themed months overseen by a leading children’s charity. The themed month partners are The Children’s Society (Education Month in November), Barnado’s (Family Support Month in December), Children’s Links working with CSV’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) (Health Month in January) and NCH (Time for Money month in February).

5. The Office of the Third Sector is committing £1.25 million towards the operation of Dare to Care in England