Schoolkids hit 'hygiene poverty'

3 in 4 school staff say problem is on the rise

- ELEANOR BUSBY

MORE children are likely to arrive at school this term with unclean clothes and unbrushed teeth, teachers have suggested.

Nearly three in four (72 per cent) school staff believe there has been an increase in "hygiene poverty" issues in their school in the last year, according to a poll.

The survey of 500 school staff in the UK who had said they were aware of pupils experiencing hygiene poverty suggests that 71 per cent expect the levels of hygiene poverty to have risen.

Dirty uniforms and PE kits, unwashed hair and unclean teeth were the most cited indicators of hygiene poverty by the staff questioned in June.

The poll, carried out for charity The Hygiene Bank and cleaning brand smol, defines hygiene poverty as those who are "caught between being able to heat their home, pay their bills, buy food or keep clean".