Eight in 10 primary teachers in England spending own money to help pupils

As well as feeding hungry pupils, most primary and secondary leaders say they are forced to make cuts in other areas due to costs. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Eight in 10 primary schoolteachers in England are spending their own money to buy items for pupils who are increasingly arriving at school hungry and without adequate clothing, according to new research.

Almost a third (31%) of those who took part in the survey said they were seeing more hungry children in class, with 40% reporting an increase in pupils coming in without proper uniform or a warm winter coat, research by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found.