A stark new study has laid bare the extent to which the housing crisis is invading classrooms across England, with teachers on the frontline witnessing the devastating impact of homelessness on their pupils.
Teachers Witness Crisis Firsthand
Research commissioned by the housing charity Shelter reveals a deeply troubling picture. The survey of 7,127 state school teachers across England found that more than half (53%) of educators in the West Midlands have been employed at a school in the past 12 months where at least one pupil was homeless.
Digging deeper, the data shows that 31% of teachers in the region reported that a child or children they personally taught or interacted with was without a home. A further 22% knew of homeless children at their school whom they did not directly teach.
National Picture and Devastating Impacts
The crisis is most acute in London, where nearly three-quarters (73%) of teachers were aware of homeless pupils, but it is a nationwide scourge. Significant numbers were also reported in the South West (56%), North West (53%), and South East (48%).
Separate research by the teachers' union NASUWT, also for Shelter, quantified the catastrophic effects on young lives. Among 263 educators who had taught homeless pupils:
- 76% said homelessness caused academic underperformance.
- 75% reported a substantial negative impact on mental wellbeing.
- 92% witnessed pupils arriving at school fatigued.
- 83% said it led to increased absence from lessons.
Shelter's chief executive, Sarah Elliott, stated: "The housing emergency is infiltrating our classrooms and robbing children of their most basic need of a safe and secure home. Children shouldn't have to try and balance their studies with the horrific experience of homelessness."
Calls for Action and Government Response
Shelter estimates that over 175,000 children in England are currently living in temporary accommodation. The charity is urging the government to set a national target to accelerate the building of social rent homes.
The human cost was echoed by Matt Wrack of NASUWT, who warned that the lack of stable housing "jeopardises children's prospects for the future." The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has previously highlighted the immense pressure on schools, which are now running food banks and helping families find housing.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government responded: "No child should be trying to learn without the security of a settled home... our comprehensive homelessness strategy, backed by record funding, will address the root causes of homelessness and set us on a path to ending it for good."
The findings underscore a growing emergency within education, where teachers are increasingly becoming witnesses to, and first responders for, a social crisis that extends far beyond the school gates.
