PUPILS from poverty-stricken families face significant disadvantages at school, according to a major report.

The Child Poverty Action Group found children from poorer backgrounds felt "excluded" because they could not afford even basics like school uniform.

The report said: "Insufficient household income can mean some children don’t have the resources needed for school and can’t easily afford to take part in school activities which cost money. This can put them at risk of missing out on opportunities at school and feeling different, excluded and unhappy."

The charity's report, compiled after a year long study in Glasgow, found school uniform was the cheapest option for families, but still presented a "significant cost" with council clothing grants "only going so far" and some children not having sufficient school clothing or footwear.

Transport costs were also "significant" with no financial support provided for pupils living less than two miles from a primary school.

The report said an inability to access opportunities outside school meant that some children could approach classroom topics with "little prior knowledge" leading to difficulties in engaging with learning.

The report added: "Friendships are affected by income levels and the ability to have and to do the same things as other children both in and outside school. Children and young people can tell who has less money in their school and this can lead to stigma and exclusion."

School trips were another area of exclusion with low cost trips still difficult to afford and expensive trips abroad "impossible".

Free school meals were of benefit, the report found, but it said not all eligible families signed up for them leading to staff "plugging gaps" when children were hungry.

And the report found that, although most home learning tasks cost nothing, some children didn't have basic resources such as computers, internet access, software and printers which meant they struggled with homework.

John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, added: "No child should ever miss out or be made to feel awkward at school just because their families are struggling on a low income, but our work tells that all too often they do.

"It is now vital that all schools, local authorities and national government act on this report to ensure that no child misses out on any aspect of school because of financial barriers.

"If Scotland is serious about closing the attainment gap all our young people should benefit from everything that our schools have to offer, whatever their family income."

Stephen Curran, Glasgow City Council's education spokesman, said: "It is estimated in Glasgow that one in three children are in poverty – affecting almost 36,000 of our children.

“This can result in them feeling excluded from school activities, trips, meals or simply finding it difficult to take part in routine school tasks like submitting homework which requires online access.

"We will try to do everything possible that we can to eliminate the obstacles that poverty can create so that every child in Glasgow can have equal access to a quality education."

The report recommends minimising costs and reducing pressure on family budgets by ensuring all those entitled to financial support like free meals and clothing grants get what they are entitled to.

Schools are encouraged to ensure anything with a cost is as affordable as possible with parents allowed flexible instalments for trips and signposting to the cheapest uniform supplier.

Staff should understand the resources pupils have at home and modify expectations and tasks accordingly, the report said, with resources such as stationery, uniform and equipment for clubs "without comment or trouble".

"Children and young people also recommend that they be taught more about poverty to remove stigma and shame. They think that staff should understand poverty and know that they can’t be sure about everybody’s situation," the report adds.