By Hilary Strong

When we think about why children miss school, illness or term-time trips come to mind for many.

But across the UK, there’s a quieter crisis keeping pupils out of classrooms that often goes under the radar: hygiene poverty.

New research from smol and The Hygiene Bank reveals almost 3 million children have faced hygiene poverty in the past year, missing an average of 6.5 school days each – that’s more than 23 million lost learning days annually.

And if those numbers aren’t ringing alarm bells, teachers have witnessed a 68% surge year-on-year in daily instances of pupils experiencing hygiene poverty across the nation.

Despite the severity of the issue, hygiene poverty remains one of the least discussed drivers of absenteeism and educational inequality.

The fact that some families are forced to choose between heating and........

© LBC