Leeds charity Zarach urges government to end child bed poverty

Bex Wilson set up the Zarach charity in Leeds in 2017

A charity which provides beds for children has urged the government to come up with a plan to ensure every child has a proper place to sleep.

A petition by the founder of Leeds-based Zarach calls on the government to end "bed poverty" and has so far been signed more than 10,000 times.

The charity was established by Bex Wilson in 2017 and has since helped 1,600 families.

The government has been contacted for comment.

Zarach, which also organises food and holiday clubs, provides struggling families with a bundle which includes a new bed, mattress, duvet, pillows, covers and pyjamas.

Ms Wilson, an assistant head at Shakespeare Primary School in Leeds, said bed poverty affected educational outcomes for children across the UK.

The petition urges a national sleep strategy which "must resource local authorities to identify, address and ultimately end bed poverty".

"If a child sleeps and eats well, they learn better," Ms Wilson said.

Without engaging with education, children will not get the "tools they need to break the cycle of poverty", she added.

The charity says it has delivered 1,600 bed bundles to families since it was established

Buttle UK, which provides financial help to children in need, said in its State of Child Poverty 2020 report that front-line workers reported 27% of supported children did not have access to a proper bed to sleep in.

"This impacts children's mental health and wellbeing, their physical health and their education," it said.

"When children are tired, they cannot focus at school or even wake up in time to go to school, impacting on their capacity to learn."