Tom Dannatt, who lives in Eaton and is the founder and CEO of Street Child, looks at the work across the world to get children school places

This week, children across Norfolk, including my four boys, are heading back to school.

It's a funny one. No child I've met ever wants the holidays to end, and my boys are no exception (sorry Mr. Griffiths!) 

Yet, returning to school means reconnecting with friends and learning, which can be pretty cool, at least some of the time.

Whether children love school or not, we all know it’s essential for their future success.

Education builds skills, earns qualifications, and provides the foundation for a better life.

Hundreds of millions of children across the world are returning to school this month, as many countries start their academic year around this time.

(Image: Anna Moffat)

Unfortunately, tens of millions of children won’t be joining them.

Poverty is the primary reason, followed by conflict and natural disasters.

The numbers are staggering: 60 million primary-school-aged children are out of school worldwide—more than the combined population of England and Wales.

This represents a massive loss of human potential. What chance does a person have for a productive life if they can’t even read or write?

We will never know what these children could have achieved for themselves and their communities.

Most of these children live in the world’s poorest and most disaster-affected regions, where the cycle of poverty and lack of education repeats itself.

Without basic education, there’s little hope for these societies to develop and thrive.

Yet, the cost to get a child into school is often surprisingly low.

In Sierra Leone, where Street Child began in 2008, the typical amount needed to send a child to primary school is less than £10 per term, or about £2 a month.

In many countries where Street Child operates, £100 is enough to secure a child’s place in school for a year. These small sums can make a life-changing difference.

For less than the cost of a coffee or a bus ticket, you can help rewrite a child’s future.

Almost everyone has the potential to make a difference, especially in our relatively affluent part of the world compared to the communities Street Child serves.

In the UK, the government will spend £7,690 per pupil this academic year.

Street Child, which now operates in over 20 of the world’s poorest and most disaster-affected countries, has helped over half a million out-of-school children into education.

This has been achieved through social work, community engagement, livelihood schemes, provision of uniforms, school construction, and special classes for displaced children.

Every day, we witness how small contributions can transform children’s lives.

This year, we are launching a ‘Back to School’ campaign to focus on this critical issue.

We want to encourage families, schools, and communities to celebrate the start of their own school year by contributing to Street Child’s initiative.

The goal is to extend the promise of education to as many children as possible in some of the world’s toughest places.

Our campaign pledge is simple: every pound raised will be spent on helping children get into school as quickly as possible this academic year.

Street Child has always received incredible support from Norfolk, and we would be thrilled to see local schools, families, and individuals rally around this latest initiative.

Our aim is to make this an annual national campaign, growing each year until every child, everywhere, has the chance to learn the basics—reading and writing.

Wishing all of Norfolk’s young learners a fantastic academic year ahead!

Tom Dannatt lives in Eaton and is the founder and CEO of Street Child. To learn more or support Street Child’s ‘Back to School’ campaign, visit https://street-child.org/back-to-school-24/