No new shoes, uniforms... and hungry in class

Reality facing pupils from poor families as charity urges action

- BY SASKIA ROWLANDS

CHILDREN in hard-up families are being sent back to school without basic essentials, as a charity warns kids are being failed by the system.

Figures from children's charity Buttle UK reveal 60% of struggling parents do not have the means to buy new uniforms and shoes.

More than eight out of 10 do not having a laptop or tablet for homework, while 69% said school trips are out of reach.