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The Smith Family pulse survey october 2023

Cost-of-living increases continue to add to educational challenges for children, according to latest survey.

Thousands of Australian children could miss out on essential items for learning as cost-of-living increases are making it harder for parents to afford all of the things their children need for their education. 

A second consecutive year of escalating living costs has meant another difficult time for families experiencing disadvantage, with nearly 60% of survey participants saying they found it hard or harder to afford all the school essentials their children needed in 2023.

The findings are revealed in the latest Smith Family Pulse Survey, a national survey of more than 2,200 parents and carers whose children are supported by The Smith Family. They were asked questions about their children’s experience of school during the year and how they had coped with the expenses involved.

This is the fourth Pulse survey to be carried out by The Smith Family. The first survey presented the perspective of The Smith Family’s frontline team members; all the following surveys spoke to the families who are supported through The Smith Family. The survey is repeated annually to provide a snapshot of families’ changing circumstances and hear directly from parents and carers about issues affecting their children’s education.

KEY FINDINGS:

  • 52.3% of respondents said the increased cost of everyday expenses such as groceries, petrol and rent was the main reason it was harder to afford school items.

  • Over a third of parents and carers said school had been hard or very hard for their children in 2023. The main reasons cited for this were school issues, health and mental health issues, and other social issues.

  • A combined 53.9% cited their children’s need for more things for school or their need the same things that were now more expensive as the reason for decreased affordability.

Cost of living increases made it harder for families to meet school costs in 2023

Nearly three in five (56.3%) parents and carers said they had found it harder to afford all the things their children needed for school during 2023. As with last year’s results, the main reason (52.3%) cited for this related to increased costs of everyday expenses such as petrol, groceries and rent.
Over a quarter (27.7%) said 2023 was harder because their children needed more things for school or more expensive things. And 26.2% said that while their children need the same things for school, the costs of those items had increased.
With the cost of everything going up I struggle really hard to pay for my basic household bills and have given whatever I can. But I feel like I still can’t provide the everyday things for my son to make him feel like he fits in with his friends and give him the same life as they have.
Parent
Getting to and from school as I can't afford to fix our car and it takes her two buses which [means] she has to leave at 7.50am.
Parent
Not being able to do things that cost money on the weekend with friends has impacted her social life. Not having enough money to buy clothes or get her new glasses.
Parent

School didn’t get easier in 2023

Over a third of respondents said that school had been hard or very hard for their children in 2023. The reasons for this varied but generally related to health (including mental health and disability issues) and social issues related to school such as bullying and making friends.
Struggling with schoolwork was also a significant factor in making the school year hard. As was financial pressures. Other issues at school includes things like transitioning to high school, general motivation, digital access and behavioural issues.
Year 9 is proving to be the hardest socially, emotionally and academically. Motivation is at an all time low and broken BYODs (bring your own devices) waiting for repairs and finances to repair, hasn’t helped.
Parent
My eldest is in Year 11 doing VCE, the workload and lack of support in understanding the work tasks [and] support in helping mental health during exams, has been very difficult for him.
Parent
[My children] are both finding the large classrooms and disruptive students challenging. Due to both children needing extra support, they are missing out as the teachers are busy with the more challenging [students].
Parent

But there’s plenty to celebrate

Despite it being a tough year for many families, their children still made significant progress in a range of areas that made their parents proud.
The most commonly cited cause of pride for parents and carers was seeing the progress their children had made in their learning. This was followed by the effort their children were making at school and the level of their children’s achievement.
[My child] struggling with mental health just keeps trying again, every day, and explores other help when what she has isn’t working. So proud of her courage to keep aiming for better and better attendance.
Parent
How resilient and persistent my child has proved himself to be, facing all the learning challenges he has endured.
Parent

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS SURVEY

The Smith Family Pulse Survey is an annual survey of parents and carers about how their children are faring at school and any issues affecting their children’s education. The survey is open to parents whose children are currently supported through our Learning for Life education support program, which provides emotional, practical and financial support to young Australians experiencing disadvantage. This survey was conducted between 6-20 September 2023 and there were 2,284 respondents.