‘I would go to school shivering’: 300,000 children in the UK may go without a coat this winter

A teenager has described “going to school in a thin cardigan shivering” as a report has found that one in seven parents in the UK will struggle to afford a coat for their children this winter.

Children’s charity Barnardo’s has claimed there could be 300,000 children in the UK going without a coat this winter, with around 2.2 million parents struggling to afford a coat or warm clothing for their children.

Scarlet, a 17-year-old student from Plymouth, explained that all but one of her siblings are currently lacking a winter coat, and that as they all get older, buying winter clothing will become more and more expensive.

“Every year it’s an issue that we don’t have winter coats – because we grow, because we’re young, and because we don’t have many, they get worn constantly, so they get worn out,” she explained. “I remember going to school in a thin cardigan shivering.”

Scarlet said she has been able to get a coat this year with the help of a voucher scheme, and that finding winter clothes in charity shops makes it easier to provide for the whole family, but that some years they would have to go without.

“We’ve all struggled with winter clothes on and off, some years it’d be really good because we could get loads of bulk clothes, especially when we were younger, we didn’t grow as quickly so we could have coats for a couple of years,” she said. “But now, from the end of primary school up to now, coats have been a lot harder to get, because as you get into those adult sizes, they get a lot more expensive.

“We’ve had loads of hand-me-downs from my older sister. My younger sister gets all my hand-me-downs. They get tattier and tattier as they get handed down.”

Based on YouGov polling, the charity found that one in 50 children in the UK aged six to 15 do not have a winter coat, while around one in eight (12%) who do have a winter coat say they are worried it won’t keep them warm this winter.

The report also surveyed 1,132 parents in the UK, with one in six (18%) expressing worry that their child’s coat or clothing may not keep them warm this winter, but it is all they can afford.

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In a recent survey of Barnardo’s frontline staff, almost half (46%) of workers who responded said they had witnessed children, families and parents going without essential clothing.

Scarlet explained that keeping children warm during the winter isn’t solely about warm winter clothing, but also about “lowering the prices of gas, prices of electricity and bills”. The student lives in Plymouth, where damp is an issue due to wet weather, and says conditions have affected her mum, who is disabled.

“My mum has FND, functional neurological disorder, and her condition gets really affected by the cold,” she told the Big Issue. “So it was literally every day, it was a struggle of, does my mum get ill, or do we put the heating on?

“But if we put the heating on, that costs us more money, and if we put the heating on, we have to spend less time in the shower, less time doing dishes. We really had to choose between keeping my mum healthy and pain-free, or not heating our home, and saving money. It was really just a struggle.”

Scarlet explained that people can dismiss the issue of a lack of winter coats as children “just being a bit cold”, but in reality, children “get really ill from mould exposure, colds, not having adequate clothing, and it’s just really heartbreaking.”

She said: “Me and my siblings, and also my parents, we’ve all had chest infections, colds all the time, flu all the time. My mum suffered really badly with pneumonia at one point, and had to be hospitalised, so it’s just the severity of not having a warm house, especially because we’ve also got a damp house living in Plymouth right by the sea.”

Scarlet said that “a lot of people don’t realise the severity of the cost of living crisis on young people, because a lot of the time it’s treated as an adults-only issue, or adults are the only ones paying the bills… but in reality it affects a whole family, which includes the young people.”

‘No coat could mean no playtime during winter’

Scarlet explained that not having a winter coat can also mean that children may not be able to play with their friends outside, with some schools adopting a “no coat, no play” policy to ensure children don’t go cold.

“A lot of primary schools – not mine personally – but a lot of primary schools will do ‘no coat, no play’, and I feel like that does really single out kids who can’t afford that,” she said. “I’ve definitely had friends who are like, ‘I wasn’t allowed to go to play when I couldn’t afford a coat’.”

Barnardo’s had previously helped a five-year-old girl from a family struggling with a low income and mental health conditions, who had no coat, warm clothing or school shoes and had to make her own way to school. The charity’s support meant she was “warm, but also safe, had more dignity and the chance to play with friends at lunchtime”.

Barnardo’s is now calling on the public to help support its campaign by donating money this winter, and also dropping off any unneeded children’s winter coats and clothing to their local Barnardo’s charity shop.

Scarlet described Barnardo’s as “amazing”, explaining that young people and adults in crisis should “reach out” as they can “really do something for you”. She added that as well as donating money, the general public should donate their spare coats, as it will “make people like me and other families just be a little bit better off this winter.”

“It’s simply not right that across the UK, too many children are facing a harsh winter without the basics they need to stay warm, healthy and hopeful,” Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry added.  

“Behind the sparkle of the festive season we know there will be children worrying about having enough to eat, making do with a coat that’s too small and feeling left out of the celebrations.”

Actress Dame Helen Mirren, a Barnardo’s ambassador, added that it only takes “one thing to go wrong” for a family living from “hand to mouth” to be in crisis over winter.

“Parents always try to protect their children and keep them fed and warm,” she said. “I grew up after the war and for us money was always very, very tight, but I was lucky because my father didn’t get ill and didn’t have to stop working. 

“It’s heartbreaking that so many children will be hungry and cold this winter, and too many families will be dreading the festive season. That’s why Barnardo’s is helping families keep the heating on and the fridge full.”

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