Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools
Understand more deeply and better address inequalities in your school
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Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools
Narrated by:
George Potts
Buy Now for £13.52
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Narrated by:
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George Potts
Actionable, road-tested approaches to understanding and tackling poverty in schools
The stark reality of poverty and disadvantage in our communities is one of the biggest challenges faced by schools today. Schools need better understanding of the broader impact of poverty and disadvantage and what they can do about it – that’s where Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools comes in.
The book is divided into three clear sections on how to understand and tackle poverty across the whole school, in the classroom, and within the community.
The whole school section focuses on understanding poverty and its roots, including:
- defining poverty and addressing the topic within professional development
- assessing the school day to discover and address barriers, from uniform prices and transport to accessing free school meals
- giving early help and intervention
- understanding the intersection between poverty and displacement
The classroom section focuses on barriers to learning and practical steps to address these, including:
- how to adapt the curriculum to assist pupils with fewer advantages
- how a focus on social justice can help
- the importance of reading
The community section addresses the wider context, including:
- addressing exclusion and suspension rates, and how to use mentors to encourage pupils
- partnerships with local businesses and organisations to broaden pupils’ opportunities
Written by expert authors working in a deprived area in the north east of England, Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools goes beyond the statistics and – whilst there are no 'silver bullets' – offers practical ways forward. This book is backed by research and is complete with case studies, reflective tasks and next steps from contributors from across the UK and working with all phases. As well as this, Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage includes a foreword written by Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of The Chartered College of Teaching.
From poverty-proofing the classroom and curriculum to changing whole-school culture and breaking the cycle, this resource speaks to the multiple intersecting crises currently faced by schools including lost learning during the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and increased referrals relating to DV. Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools equips you as a system-leader or educator to understand more deeply, diagnose issues and better address inequalities in your school.©2025 Katrina Morley (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic reviews
Written by two people who walk the walk every day, this book pulls together real expertise from across the system to help us truly understand poverty and its effects, but most importantly offer us a host of practical ways schools can make things better. This is a book every teacher and leader should read. (Jonny Uttley)
The authors’ relentless determination to drive opportunities for all children shine through in this book, which is both inspiring and of huge practical value. This is an essential read. (Baroness Longfield)
It strikes a rare balancing act between being academic, accessible and actionable at the same time. The work the authors do, and the exemplars from schools and trusts, are really strong and shine through, so that this book proves useful to busy school leaders working hard to make a difference.
Every page reaffirms my belief that we must close any gaps early, because those gaps widen quickly and affect children’s life chances in profound ways. (@Hellins_headteacher)
This extremely knowledgeable and very readable book provides a ‘can’ do approach with powerful examples of the ways in which schools can tackle the impact of poverty that can create disadvantage for so many children. Harris and Morley draw on their own extensive experience, and that of chapter authors, to provide insight into the challenges that face schools and strategies found to be successful.
This book is an essential read for all education professionals in schools, universities and the wider education community. It provides guidance for schools to aid reflection on issues within their own context and suggests a wealth of evidence-informed strategies for developing whole-school culture and professional learning. We have been trying to ‘close the gap’ for years, with mixed success. Harris and Morley's valuable contribution to fostering equity provides readers with an abundance of ideas for inspiring practice to increase opportunities for all our children. (Gill Richards, Nottingham Trent University)
This book is an essential read for all education professionals in schools, universities and the wider education community. It provides guidance for schools to aid reflection on issues within their own context and suggests a wealth of evidence-informed strategies for developing whole-school culture and professional learning. We have been trying to ‘close the gap’ for years, with mixed success. Harris and Morley's valuable contribution to fostering equity provides readers with an abundance of ideas for inspiring practice to increase opportunities for all our children. (Gill Richards, Nottingham Trent University)
Essential reading […] An important and accessible resource that challenges educators to examine their assumptions, audit their practices and commit to meaningful change. (Dr Lisa Cherry)
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