The government has published a child friendly version of its Child Poverty Strategy, designed to give parents and teachers a practical tool for having honest, age appropriate conversations with children about poverty. The resource was published on 13 March 2026 by the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions.
What Is the Child Friendly Strategy?
The child friendly strategy is a new document aimed at giving children a clear, reassuring, and accessible explanation of what poverty means, why some families struggle, and what the government is doing to help. It is intended to support teachers and parents who want to start those sometimes difficult conversations, and to encourage any child who feels worried to speak to a trusted adult.
According to the government, around 10 children in a typical classroom of 30 are growing up in poverty. The document is designed to give those children the language to make sense of their own experience, and to help reduce stigma by enabling all children to better understand the experiences of their peers.
What Does the Resource Include?
The child friendly strategy is designed to support classroom and home discussions. It includes:
- Definitions of child poverty and interventions, with links to further support
- Discussion prompts, such as: "What do you think families could do if they had a bit more money every week?"
- A list of government measures to tackle child poverty and what they will mean for children's lives
- An explanation of what all families need to be happy and healthy, including a warm home, a welcoming community, and access to healthcare
Many schools already teach children about inequality and social justice. The government says this document is intended to offer a factual, accessible tool to support those existing conversations.
What Is the Wider Child Poverty Strategy?
The child friendly version builds on the government's broader Child Poverty Strategy, published in December 2025. That strategy set out a decade long mission to tackle the root causes of poverty and was developed by the Child Poverty Taskforce, which was announced by the Prime Minister in July 2024.
The strategy aims to lift around 550,000 children out of poverty by the final year of this Parliament. It does this through three main approaches:
- Cutting the cost of essentials - including help with energy bills
- Boosting family incomes - primarily through removing the two child limit in Universal Credit
- Improving local services - so every child has the best start in life
What Is the Two Child Limit and Why Is It Being Removed?
The two child limit is a rule introduced in 2017 that restricts Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit payments to the first two children in a family. Families with a third or subsequent child born after April 2017 do not receive the child element of Universal Credit for that child.
The government describes removing the two child limit as the most cost effective way to drive down child poverty rates. According to the press release, ending the two child limit is expected to lift 450,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament, rising to 550,000 when combined with other measures.
What Other Measures Are Included?
Alongside removing the two child limit, the strategy includes:
- Expanding free school meals to over 500,000 additional children
- Rolling out free breakfast clubs in schools
- Record investment in childcare
- Help with energy bills to reduce household costs
What Is the Children's Rights Impact Assessment?
Alongside the child friendly strategy, the government also published a Children's Rights Impact Assessment on 13 March 2026. This document assesses the Child Poverty Strategy against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The assessment concludes that the strategy is expected to have a positive impact on children's rights in a number of areas, including their rights to life and development, to an adequate standard of living, to health, and to education.
Why Does the Government Say This Matters?
The government's press release states that children growing up in poverty are more likely to not be in education, employment, or training as an adult, earn less than their peers, and be less likely to achieve good GCSE results or do well at school.
Early Education Minister Olivia Bailey said the resource gives children "the language to make sense of their own experiences and the confidence to know that help is there."
Minister for Employment Diana Johnson said: "No child should have their future limited by the circumstances they were born into."
What Did UNICEF UK Say?
Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer of The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), said:
Child poverty is not inevitable. Ending the two child limit is one of the most effective ways to lift hundreds of thousands of children living in low income households out of poverty. Action on child poverty helps children thrive today, while strengthening the economy for everyone. We are delighted that the Government has produced a child friendly version of the Child Poverty Strategy to help build understanding with children on this issue that affects so many families in the UK.
What Happens Next?
The Child Poverty Strategy is described as a UK wide strategy that will deliver for children across all four nations. The government has committed to a monitoring and evaluation framework to hold itself to account on delivering the outcomes it has promised through this Parliament and beyond.
The child friendly strategy and the Children's Rights Impact Assessment are both available through the government's Child Poverty Strategy collection page.