Harringay falls within the constituency of Tottenham which was recently revealed to have an extrememly high number of children living in poverty, 49% of kids are living in households where each individual had less than 10 pounds a day to live on and suffer hardship as a result.
Now that in itself may not hold children back but it makes things much harder for them than children living in more affluent households, for often with financial poverty comes a poverty of expectation and aspiration both by those who are living in poverty and those who deal with them.
I worked with kids from Somers Town and Kentish Town for many years and although the schools do a great deal to support kids (and families) should they want it who have less and need more, it doesn't reach everyone and plenty drop through the net.
Living in relative comfort in this corner of Haringey it is easy to forget that even in the classroom in the local neighbourhood school to which I send my child, there will be children whose families are struggling to make ends meet, who lack decent housing and may be suffering from overcrowding and lack of money to heat their homes. All this will have a detrimental effect on their education and their future prospects. Its important sometimes for us to remember that, I think and do what we can to battle poor housing, and other inequalities in any small way we can.
The Labour government came to power with a promise to end child poverty in this very wealthy country and we must keep demanding that they keep the promise. To this end,I support the End Child Poverty campaigns and Shelter who are working hard to overcome these obstacles to our children's health and happiness.
Ultimately, what we want for our children,is what everyone wants. For them to be warm, safe, healthy and happy and to be able to develop their talents whatever they may be.
A child living in poverty deserves these things too, right here in Tottenham, right here in Harringay.
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