My name is Megan  and I am 12 years old. Did you know over one in three children in the UK are living in child poverty RIGHT NOW? Child poverty has destructive effects to the lives of my friends and my community and it needs to be tackled more effectively.

Outrageously, research conducted by the NEU and CPAG shows that the top 1,000 schools with the highest number of children receiving free school meals have MUCH HIGHER CUTS in funding than other schools. A third of children who's family "Isn't well off at all" have fallen behind in class. Something needs to change. 

I demand that greater equity needs to be given to children in poverty. This means more opportunities, well-being as well as academic support and  lower cuts for the schools with a higher level of children in poverty. I have seen the catastrophic added issues that children in poverty face; dealing with bereavement, family breakdown, trauma, poor housing and debt to name just a few. This has a detrimental impact on children's long term mental health, and therefore they require much more support.  

Furthermore, one of the issues children in poverty face is discrimination and a lack of understanding- especially from their peers. This can be tackled by educating children on poverty in the UK and beyond; by adding books e.g 'A different pond' to schools curriculum, empowering them to tackle poverty in the community e.g donating to food banks, and teaching compassion and kindness.

In conclusion, we must ensure children in poverty- our next generation- have a better quality of life and the Government must support schools to make this happen. 

*FYI* This petition is not about Child FOOD poverty, it is about providing better support and educational opportunities for Children in poverty to enable them to be the best the can be.