Shelter demands 90,000 social homes as teachers warn of impact on children in temporary accommodation

Shelter is calling on the government to deliver 90,000 social homes a year for ten years, as new research reveals that more than half of teachers in state schools in England have worked with children who are homeless.

Findings by the housing charity and charity Teacher Tapp reveal a record 175,025 children stuck in temporary accommodation, as 76% of the teachers who responded said that being homeless had led to children performing poorly in assessments or exams.

The news comes as the government has pledged to prevent homelessness by the end of this Parliament through its new homelessness strategy.

We need 90,000 social homes a year for ten years

According to Shelter, 75% of the people surveyed said that homelessness has had a significant impact on the mental health of the children they teach.

Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, says the government must build more social homes to tackle the temporary accommodation crisis.

She said: “The housing emergency is infiltrating our classrooms and robbing children of their most basic need of a safe and secure home. Children shouldn’t have to try and balance their studies with the horrific experience of homelessness.

“Teachers are witnessing the same devastating effects of growing up in temporary accommodation on children that our services see every day. Feeling cut off and isolated, children are showing up to school exhausted after long commutes from accommodation that is many miles away. Others are struggling to concentrate whilst dreading another night in a cramped B&B room where they have no space or privacy to study for crucial exams.

“With the public’s support, Shelter’s frontline services will keep doing everything possible to support families facing homelessness this winter and beyond. But to protect children from ever experiencing the harms of homelessness, the government must ramp up the delivery of genuinely affordable social rent homes by setting a national target for delivery. We need 90,000 social homes a year for ten years.”

The cost of housing people in temporary accommodation is on track to spiral by 71% to £3.9 billion by 2029, equivalent to £22,000 per household per year.