Sociology and Social Policy student campaigns to end child poverty
Sophie Balmer, a student in the School of Sociology and Social Policy, has shared her experiences of growing up in a report examining poverty in the North of England.
Sophie Balmer, a student in the School of Sociology and Social Policy, volunteers as a Youth Ambassador for End Child Poverty, a group made up of more than 120 organisations. Earlier this year, Sophie spoke about her work with End Child Poverty in an interview on BBC Look North, where she also spoke about her personal experience of the long-term impact that poverty can have on individuals into adulthood.
Raising awareness of child poverty
Having grown up in the North East of England in a low income, single parent household, Sophie first became involved in campaigning with End Child Poverty and other organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Through her secondary school, Sophie had access to a free breakfast club and free school meals, but both were suddenly taken away in March 2020 when the lockdowns began.
She spoke about this experience with BiteBack2030, who were leading a campaign to extend free schools meals, which also led to conversations with catering company Chartwells about the controversial food parcels they distributed to families eligible for free school meals during the pandemic, food parcels she and many others described as “inadequate”.
Sophie became a Youth Ambassador for Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides free breakfasts for school children, but she was also keen to use her voice to raise awareness about poverty. After seeing a role advertised by End Child Poverty, Sophie felt drawn to apply, recognising that the struggles people were facing were part of a wider issue that had implications on families across the UK.
I realised that this goes beyond just what’s happening in COVID… Families are struggling all the time.
Credited as an expert witness in the second Child of the North report, ‘Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis’, Sophie gave evidence to the Child of the North APPG by way of sharing her experiences of growing up in poverty and the impacts that it had on her. The findings of the report, published in January 2023, highlighted that child poverty was significantly higher in the North of England, and children from the region were the most likely to feel the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
Child of the North and Sociology Foundation Year
The Child of the North initiative is a joint collaboration between the N8 Research Partnership and Health Equity North, which forms part of the Northern Health Science Alliance. All Child of the North reports are available to read on the N8 Research Partnership website.
Sophie is about to start her second year on the Social Policy, Sociology and Crime BSc degree course. She chose the course because of her interest in the three subjects, having first come to the School of Sociology and Social Policy as a Foundation Year student. SSP’s Foundation Year course, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, was Sophie’s ‘best idea’, and gave her the opportunity to adjust to life at university.
Without SSP’s Foundation Year option, she says, she would have had no choice but to attend a university she ‘didn’t want to be at, doing a course I didn’t want to do.’
Foundation Year courses are a lifesaver for young people who come from more difficult backgrounds and are underrepresented.
Other projects and advice for new students
Sophie was the first in her family to attend university and when she started, she did wonder if it was the right choice for her. To incoming students, and to current students who are also the first in their family to attend university, Sophie says, “you deserve to be there as much as anyone else deserves to be there.”
Outside of her studies and her work with End Child Poverty, Sophie is involved in many other campaigns and projects. She has been part of the steering group for CHORAL (Child Health Outcomes Research at Leeds), sharing her knowledge of the impact that poverty can have on the health of children, as well as her experiences as a young person from the North of England. She recently became a Board Advisor for Magic Breakfast and is in the process of training to become a Trustee.
In September, Sophie attended the 2024 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool to speak about child poverty and the importance of committing to free breakfasts for primary school children, joining Stephen Morgan MP, Minister for Early Education, on a panel organised by Magic Breakfast and the Education Policy Institute.
Want to start your own journey in Sociology and Social Policy? Sign up to one of our upcoming undergraduate October Open Days and learn more about what Leeds can offer!
