As the cost of living continues to cause unprecedented difficulties for families throughout the county, many schoolchildren are finding themselves at the forefront of the severe financial constraints.

Learners are being forced to attend school without being able to shower as a result of rising energy costs in their homes, while many are finding themselves without a school uniform as families are unable to afford the cost of replacing them as their child grows.

One school which is rising above and beyond it’s expectations in guiding its learners through the financial crisis is Ysgol Harri Tudur – Henry Tudor School – in Pembroke Dock.

This week the Western Telegraph interviewed the school’s business manager, Nick Makin, to find out how staff are helping children tackle the problems they are currently encountering on a daily basis.

“We’re aware that families are in financial difficulties, but that’s making the obvious statement,” he said.

"What we’re attempting to do in a totally empathetic manner, is to build on an enhanced engagement with families who are really struggling.

"And we can pick this nuance up from direct engagement with a child or by simply noticing that the learner isn’t attending school when they ought to.”

Mr Makin went on to say that some families attending Ysgol Harri Tudur are currently unable to afford to shower on a regular basis.

“So they come to school and we give them toiletries, towels and clean clothing and they can have a shower here on site. It’s very sad to see this happening, but I'm afriad it's happening on a regular basis.

“And despite families being in receipt of grants and benefits for clothing, the kids are constantly growing with the result that some learners don’t even own a uniform.”

To help address this issue, the school has now set up a shop which sells the second-hand uniforms at a reduced cost but also gives them away on a case-by-case basis to the children who are the most deprived.

A washing machine has recently been donated which enables staff to wash some of the children’ clothing, and this often includes essential non-uniform items.

This hands-on approach was first adopted by Ysgol Henri Tudur during the Covid pandemic when children suddenly had to learn from home and subsequently lost all direct contact with the tangible academic world.

"Covid influenced the way we began thinking of our learners and also the way in which we started to reach out to them,” he continued.

“Suddenly the school became much more than a place of learning but a kind of community support hub. And this is the way in which it’s carrying on today.”

Henry Tudor School also assists children whose families may be struggling to keep their meal cards topped up.

“We’ll step in and fund them for a week or so until they can engage with the local authority and catch up with payments.

“And next week we’ll be handing out food hampers containing essential items which we think will be greatly in need over the Christmas holiday, and these will include food as well as toiletries and female hygiene products.”

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Each of these pro-active engagements are carried out by the school’s staff who ensure the extra work gets done on top of their normal teaching and administrative roles. And with a total of 1,230 pupils in attendance, this is no mean feat.

“We’re entering an incredibly challenging climate which is not going to improve," concluded Nick Makin.

" But we, at Ysgol Harri Tudur, will continue doing what we’re doing in the best way that we can.”