We gave him the food package and some cash to take home to his family he seemed so relieved

SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS HELPING STRUGGLING PUPILS GET FED

- SOPHIE HALLE-RICHARDS

WHEN she looks back on her time as a vice-principal at a secondary school in north Manchester, there's one memory that sticks in Patsy Hodson's mind.

A young pupil who'd barely reached puberty, sprinting back to school after realising he'd forgotten to take home the free food parcel staff had prepared for his family.

"The very fact he came back and the way he seemed so anxious about it made me realise he couldn't have had much money," recalls Patsy, who left her role at Manchester Communication Academy in Harpurhey this week.

"I asked him how much money he had and he said 'nothing' - he was going 'round to a neighbour's' after school who were helping out.

"We gave him the food package and some cash to take home to his family.

"He seemed so happy and relieved. I'll never forget what he said. He beamed and said to me: 'I'll be able to see my mum's teeth all week.'"

This encounter was just before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since then, Patsy says the situation became so bad, the school had to implement several schemes just to make sure their pupils can eat.

It came as no surprise to her that a study published by charity Fareshare, revealed that one in four teachers in England had brought in food for pupils during the last term.

The poll, carried out by Teacher Tapp, suggests that 26 per cent of teachers in the country personally provided food to at least one pupil because they were worried about their welfare.

For the north west, 34pc of teachers said their school already provided food support, and 28.7pc said they personally brought food in.

Patsy recalls before the academy introduced their own raft of measures to help struggling families, kids were frequently coming into school hungry, and staff were forced to dip into their own pockets to help them out.