The council is working with charity Children North East, a charity doing groundbreaking work nationwide to create a level playing field, so no child misses out on educational opportunities because of a lack of money.

Over the last six months the charity has conducted a pilot scheme in ten city schools, talking to every child in the schools to identify daily financial barriers for children, which could affect their education and life chances.

The aim is to break down these barriers so all children and young people, no matter what their family’s income, can fully engage in all educational activities on offer at school.

The pilot was carried out in five primary schools and five secondaries, but the learning will be shared across all city schools.

It was funded by money from the Government’s Household Support Fund, which is allocated to councils to help vulnerable households with financial hardship and the cost of living.

Wednesfield Academy hosted an event for schools to see and discuss the results of the project, as the council is already planning next steps to capitalise on the work to date.

Leader of the council, Councillor Stephen Simkins attended the event with Council Jacqui Coogan, Cabinet member for Children, Young people and Education.

Councillor Simkins said:

‘We want everyone to thrive in our city and nobody should be left behind, especially children and young people.

‘They should not have their chances in life limited from a young age, because they can’t afford to go on school trips, or they haven’t eaten breakfast or they can’t afford to buy equipment or materials.

‘This is not the start we want for our children in Wolverhampton, that’s why we’ve got together with Children North East to bring their ground-breaking work to our city.

‘The work has already started delivering changes with many positive examples of the schools involved making changes straight away where they could, rather than waiting until the end of the audit.

‘It’s hard to hear how some children in our schools are affected by poverty on a daily basis, but it was also inspiring to hear change is already happening so children can have an equal chance of achieving their best lives through education, no matter what their family finances.’

One of the schools which took part in the audit and has already made changes is Stowlawn Primary in Bilston.

Headteacher Kate Charles said the experience had been a positive one and was very child-friendly, which was exactly what they had been looking for.

‘It was important to us to give parents and pupils a voice and be able to review our practices and make sure we were getting the best for all of our children,’ she said.

‘We were able to make some quick wins, which really got parents on board with the whole approach. For example, we learned parents didn’t know about some of our support available around free school meals and lunchtimes.

‘We were also able to take on board feedback about giving more notice of school trips, as a school we fund our trips, but parents wanted to know about them earlier, which is what we now do.’

Amanada Gormley, Poverty Proofing Co-ordinator at Children North East, who carried out the audit, said Wolverhampton had been very welcoming and children had been honest and enjoyed the chance to share their views.

‘We spoke to every child and clear themes emerged around the cost, quantity and quality of food, the cost of school trips and uniforms.

‘These issues aren’t limited to children receiving free school meals, it can affect anyone, those with working parents on low incomes and even families who might seem to be comfortable financially on the face of it but have high outgoings or changes in circumstances.

‘Any family and child can be affected and the work we do is about levelling the playing field so that every child has the best chance in life they can, regardless of their family finances.’

Leigh Elliott, Chief Executive, Children North East added:

‘Children North East’s Poverty Proofing® methodology has been developed over more than a decade to break down the hidden barriers that prevent children from fully accessing education.

‘We are incredibly proud of how the programme has grown and of the national support we now provide. To see our work cited in the Government’s National Child Poverty Strategy as best practice is a powerful recognition of its impact - and a reminder that every child deserves an education free from the pressures and stigma of poverty.’

The learning from the audit in the pilot schools will be shared with all city schools, which have also had access to two webinars from Children North East, so changes can be implemented city-wide.