The Campaign Marches on

General Secretary Andrea Bradley outlines the reasons why the EIS is joining with a diverse range of campaigning organisations to support the Poverty Alliance in the Scotland Demands Better campaign.

The EIS commends the Poverty Alliance for taking forward the next phase of the Scotland Demands Better campaign. The EIS considers it a vital campaign.

For us, as a union of teachers and lecturers it’s more than concerning, it’s deeply disturbing, in fact, that in Scotland, one of the richest countries in the world, more than a quarter of children are still living in poverty, and inequality impacts the learning and associated life chances of thousands and thousands of students.

It’s even more disturbing that two thirds of children in poverty live in households where at least one adult is in paid employment. Clearly, work isn’t paying as it should for thousands of workers in Scotland, while the safety net of social security for those who need it isn’t passing the safety test either.

The appalling consequence of these factors, further compounded with the high cost of living, is that tens and tens of thousands of children and young people in Scotland, continue to leave for school in the morning, with nothing in their stomachs because there’s no food for a breakfast.

They go to school hungry each day – that’s if they’re able to overcome the poverty-related challenges they otherwise face in getting up and out in the mornings at all, with pupil absence data now showing that more young people are struggling to attend school regularly and consistently.

And yet politicians still appear to be scratching our heads about how to close the poverty-related attainment gap.

When thousands of the young people who do make it into school come home at the end of the day, there’s not enough food in the cupboards to feed them, their siblings and their parents a decent evening meal.

Yet this country is awash with wealth – wealth that if fairly-distributed, could provide all citizens, regardless of the source of their incomes – from salaries to social security to pensions – to live and to live well.

The ambition of the trade union movement is and must always be for workers and all citizens, to live and to live well…to have bread and to have roses too. We make no apology for our vision.

While we continue to strive for it, though, what a brutal lesson is being taught day after day to a quarter of Scotland’s children: that it’s somehow acceptable that they and their families would not have enough food, would not have enough clothes, that they would not have enough heat and comfort in their homes to feel safe and secure as children should, as we all should, when others have all of these things – many plentifully so.

That somehow the truth of the matter is that they have less because they are worth less. Because poverty is as maleficent to self-esteem and mental health as it is to physical health and wellbeing.

And it’s that toxic blend of harms that can wreck the educational and life chances of our youngest citizens- in too many cases irrevocably.

We know that being poor doesn’t just hold young people back in Primary 1 or 5 or 7, when they’re learning to read and write, to understand science and social subjects; when they’re learning to paint, and to dance and to sing, to think critically and to regulate emotions and behaviours; or only hold them back when they sit their National 4s or National 5s or Highers at Secondary. We know that poverty blights whole lives into adulthood.

Typically, adults who’ve grown up in poverty as children, will be sicker; they’ll be more likely to suffer poor mental health; less likely to be in decently paid work; more likely to be in poor housing; more likely to suffer addiction; more likely to be in prison.

Tackling poverty is mission-critical for the upholding of human rights and democracy.

As part of the wider trade union movement, the EIS is committed to organising against poverty, to calling out the economic and political choices that are creating it and calling for those decisions to be undone and better decisions to be made in their place.

If we don’t, indignity and inequality, including relative to educational experiences and outcomes, will persist – unacceptable in itself – and we’ll also leave the doors wide open to the very dangerous influence of the far right in our communities and in our political institutions.

Tackling poverty is mission-critical for the upholding of human rights and democracy.

Poverty and inequality aren’t inevitable. They’re not like the weather or gravity. They’re a political construct, intentionally built. And as such, it’s within the collective power of people – people who elect our governments – to deconstruct these things, to press for change, demand better and vote for better, and to hold politicians fiercely to account after they’re voted into office on their record of keeping promises.

The EIS is proud to be part of the Scotland Demands Better Campaign. Our Stand Up for Quality Education Campaign is in lock-step with it. Our campaign demands increased education funding and resourcing that takes full account of the fact that a quarter of a million children in Scotland live in poverty, that the barriers to learning for thousands of children and young people in our classrooms are huge. And it demands the staffing and resources that are needed to close the poverty-related achievement and attainment gap.

Wishing it were done and claiming it’s being done are simply not enough.

Our Executive Committee recently agreed to donate £5,000 to the Scotland Demands Better Campaign. As a union, we didn’t think twice about giving our support to the Poverty Alliance and its endeavour to build an anti-poverty coalition of the willing. The EIS will be proud to be part of the mass demonstration in Edinburgh on the 25th October under the banner of Scotland Demands Better.

Ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, it’s right that the organisations that represent the people of Scotland demand better… because our citizens deserve better and Scotland can definitely do better for its citizens.

A Date for Your Diary – Scotland Demands Better March & Rally on 25th October in Edinburgh

The Scotland Demands Better campaign, led by the Poverty Alliance, aims to persuade politicians to make the changes we need for a society where every household can thrive and prosper. The EIS is a supporter of the campaign as it aligns with our policy of standing up for quality education and increased public investment.

The Scotland Demands Better campaign will be holding a march and rally on 25th October in Edinburgh. The event will be a family-friendly rally with a festival vibe, including music, speeches and entertainment.

The EIS is making arrangements for members to attend the march, with transport support available to local associations for travel to Edinburgh. Speak to your Rep or Local Association Secretary for more information, and keep an eye on EIS social media for the latest updates.