Children in England are facing ‘Dickensian levels’ of poverty, going without basic needs like heating, a place to wash, somewhere to eat breakfast, or safe transport to school, new research has revealed.

The Children’s Commissioner says that testimonies from school-age children shared in its report expose a crisis of hardship, shame and systemic failures that illustrate the stark reality of what it means to live on a low income in 2025.

Dame Rachel de Souza, The Children’s Commissioner, has now set out practical recommendations which she says will tackle and end child poverty based on the insights children have shared with her. These have been shared with the government’s Child Poverty Unit in the hope it will shape its forthcoming strategy and ensure it reflects on the many ways children experience poverty: going hungry, feeling unsafe at home, travelling hours to get an education and being stigmatised for having less that their peers.

Recommendations include the introduction of a ‘triple-lock’ on all child-related benefits, to help alleviate the severe conditions children and their families are living through, and to deliver greater financial security for hundreds of thousands of children. All four UK Children’s Commissioners – from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – have jointly backed the call, alongside a repeated call to end the two-child benefits limit to prevent hundreds of thousands of children being driven into poverty.

Other proposals from Dame Rachel de Souza include free bus travel for all school-age children, priority for housing to be given to children in low-income households, auto-enrolment for free school meals for all eligible children, improved communication and data-sharing between schools, GPs and local authorities.

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Since becoming Children’s Commissioner, I have been struck by the change in how children talk about their family lives over that four-year period. Issues that were traditionally seen as ‘adult’ concerns are now keenly felt by children, who see their parents’ worries and the struggles they face: the hours they work, the homes they live in and the ability to put food on the table.

“Children shared harrowing accounts of hardship, with some in almost-Dickensian levels of poverty. They don’t talk about ‘poverty’ as an abstract concept but about not having the things that most people would consider basic: a safe home that isn’t mouldy or full or rats, with a bed big enough to stretch out in, ‘luxury’ food like bacon, a place to do homework, heating, privacy in the bathroom and being able to wash, having their friends over, and not having to travel hours to school.

“Children spoke to me about the sense of shame that comes from knowing you have less – but, as one of the richest societies in the world, it is decision makers who should be ashamed that children are growing up knowing their futures are being determined by their financial circumstances.

“We have seen some positive steps by the government to get more money into families’ pockets – but we need leaders at every level: government, business, transport and every public service to commit to bold, practical measures that break the link between a child’s background and their opportunities.”

In interviews and focus groups with 128 children aged between six and 18, children didn’t talk about ‘poverty’ directly but were acutely aware they were growing up not having enough money to do the same things as their peers and feeling a sense of shame at being seen as ‘lesser’.

Dame Rachel’s report reveals key themes, including:

• Everyday impact of poverty: children spoke about their families going without heating, food, and other essentials, often accepting these hardships as normal. Many experienced poor-quality, overcrowded and unsafe housing, as well as frequent moves while facing long waits from housing providers and prolonged stays in temporary accommodation, leaving children with no stability or space to thrive, which impacted their wellbeing and education

• Food insecurity and health inequality: rising costs mean many families have limited access to nutritious food, relying on food banks, school parcels or poor-quality free school meals, about which children raised concerns around the quality and stigma of receiving. Children also face long waits for healthcare and unequal access to mental health services, with a perception of a two-tier system, where those who can afford private care receiving faster treatment

• Barriers to education and opportunity: children highlighted the cost of uniforms, limited transport meaning long walks or complicated commutes to school, and access to extracurricular activities as major obstacles. Schools play a crucial role in supporting children, but reported support was inconsistent. Limited career guidance and low pay were also cited as restricting the prospects for young people experiencing poverty

• Broken system and inaccessible support: children showed a striking awareness of their family’s access to social security benefits, including the need for benefit rates to be increased. Many spoke of the need to make the system easier to navigate and with better access to services like housing, repairs, GPs, and school-based initiatives

• Unsafe and isolated communities: high crime, unsafe streets and unaffordable transport left children feeling vulnerable and cut off. Despite this, strong community bonds offer a sense of belonging and resilience in the face of hardship.

In response to children’s evidence, the Children’s Commissioner is highlighting the need for changes beyond the social security system to the public services that children rely on. Her recommendations include:

• Uplifts to all child-related benefits on an annual basis as costs rise, so families can meet their children’s basic needs, and removing the two-child limit

• Housing reforms to ensure no child or family is housed in any B&B-type accommodation for more than six weeks. Children in low-income households should be prioritised for affordable housing and no child should ever be placed in temporary accommodation alongside other single adults

• Improved access to transport so as many children as possible benefit from free bus travel – as a minimum, all school age children in England should have free bus travel

• Improved oversight of free school meals, with better assessment and enforcement of school food standards to ensure all children receive nutritious, high-quality meals – and for all eligible children to be auto-enrolled to receive them

• Increased safety in communities, with visible reforms for children including prioritising the rollout of PCSOs, increased street lighting and more neighbourhood watch style initiatives in areas with children on low incomes

• Long-term vision for youth activities with children from low-income households front and centre of the government’s forthcoming National Youth Strategy, as well as a commitment to funding the Holiday Activities and Food programme beyond April 2026.

Some of the children’s testimonies as told to the commissioner include:

“I would…change the amount of money people get from Universal Credit…because £920, is that enough for one month?” Girl, 11.

“Sometimes when I need to take a bath or have a shower, the water doesn’t really work sometimes… so sometimes when [children] don’t have enough water to take a shower, they always just have to go to school not clean and they didn’t shower.” Girl, 10.

“They’d make you walk in the cafeteria with everyone there, so everyone knows you’re poor because you have to wear a lanyard or a band on your wrist…Everyone had regular water bottles, but they had different ones for free school meals that were smaller than everyone else’s.” Boy,18.

“Sometimes when we go to my auntie’s house, she gives us food to take because she cooks out of home…that’s the only time I eat normal food and not take out.” Boy, 13.

“I remember when my sister was just born…you have to keep the house warm. But you can’t keep the house warm…because there was six of us in the house at the time…you’re trying to feed everyone, keep everyone warm and then pay for every expense around the house, so it’s quite a lot,” Girl, 16.

‘[My mum’s] always encouraged me to reach out and try and find jobs or…some kind of income because we are quite low on the ground.’ Girl, 16.