Rising numbers of children are going to school without a winter coat or with shoes that are stuck together, according to a survey of more than 1,000 teachers.
The poll by the National Education Union (NEU) found that staff and students are running food banks and providing laundry facilities for some children to wash their uniform.
High rents, housing problems and cuts to benefits are pushing many parents into poverty, say teachers, while children try to hide their circumstances because they are distressed and embarrassed.
One teacher reported that a pupil wore his trousers back to front because he didn’t want anyone to know he had holes in the knees and another said that students often asked for their shoes to be glued back together because the sole had fallen off.