Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Online advice for teachers of homeless children

May 12 2011
Bad housing and homelessness can have an impact on children’s ability to learn, says Shelter


Shelter Scotland has created a new website aimed at improving educational opportunities for homeless children.

The website, homelesschildren.co.uk, is intended to provide a resource to professionals in both the education and housing sectors to help them support homeless children and minimise the negative effect of homelessness on children’s development.

The site grew out of ‘Keys to the Future,’ a three-year programme that ended in March this year and focussed on homelessness and housing problems among children in areas such as Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and Dumfries. Shelter reported that the project demonstrated that “education professionals are often unaware of the impact bad housing and homelessness can have on children’s ability to learn.”

In the run up to the website’s launch, Jessie Crawford, the charity’s Children’s Service Policy and Practice Co-ordinator said: “Homeless children are entitled to support to help them learn and enjoy school. While some schools provide this, there are many children across Scotland who are missing out.” She went on to say that the new website will allow educational professionals to find “expert guidance on what measure they can take to help children with their learning.”

As of 2010, across Scotland, 60 children a day become homeless and 60 per cent of children grow up in places that fall below the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Since 2007, there has been a 37 per cent increase in the number of families with children living in temporary accommodation, which is double the figure for the general population.

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