The sharp observations of these young citizens on their schooling, on problems in their neighbourhood and on the deficiencies of their leisure opportunities, set an agenda for any practitioner who aspires to tackle family poverty. Community Care
...a vivid and comprehensive picture of what it is like to grow up poor in Britain today. Journal of Social Policy
This book provides richness and context to debates about childhood poverty, and remedies for it, from the perspectives of children themselves. Sue Middleton, Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University
Ridge's work enters a previously underdeveloped field of poverty-related research, and in doing so makes substantive, theoretical and methodological contributions. This book will be of interest to those involved in the development and evaluation of public policy, researches concerned with policy and poverty, and those involved in education - as well as to anyone wanting to move toward a rich, contextual understanding of how the world is experienced and negotiated by children. Family Matters
This book is an accessible and informative read for anyone researching, studying and working on poverty and social exclusion... It is a book that deserves to be widely read, and one that demands to be acted upon. International Journal of Social Welfare"... an extremely useful contribution to the literature on poverty. The value of recording and reporting children's experiences in their own words is indisputable." Children, Youth and Environments"... important and timely." Youth & Policy
Childhood poverty has moved from the periphery to the centre of the policy agenda following New Labour's pledge to end it within 20 years. However, whether the needs and concerns of poor children themselves are being addressed is open to question. Without a deeper understanding of poverty as a lived experience in childhood, policies targeted at eradicating child poverty may fail. Using child-centred research methods to explore children's own accounts of their lives, this book presents an opportunity to understand the issues and concerns that low-income children themselves identify as important. The findings raise critical issues for both policy and practice - in particular the finding that children are at great risk of experiencing exclusion within school. School has been a major target in the drive towards reducing child poverty. However, the policy focus has been mainly about literacy standards and exclusion from school. This book shows that poor children are suffering from insufficient access to the economic and material resources necessary for adequate social participation and academic parity.
"Childhood poverty and social exclusion" will be a valuable teaching aid across a range of academic courses, including social policy, sociology, social work and childhood studies. All those who are interested in developing a more inclusive social and policy framework for understanding childhood issues from a child-centred perspective, including child welfare practitioners and policy makers, should read this book.