Schools warn they may have to buy jumpers to keep poorer children warm

School chiefs warn they may have to buy jumpers to keep poorer children warm in class this winter as energy bills surge

• Buying a jumper for poorer children could be cheaper than running the heating
• Schools may ask students to bring own jumpers, but some cannot afford them
• The UK energy cap rose to £3,549 on Friday, expected to hit £6,600 in 2023

School chiefs have warned they may have to buy jumpers for poorer children in their classrooms as energy bills rocket.

The Government is getting ready for a stinging 80 per cent hike in energy tariffs from October which experts fear could wipe out the savings of six million families.

The price rise is set to push the average household’s yearly bill up from £1,971 to £3,549.

A senior teacher on £45,000 a year could see their energy bills go up by 80 per cent, with costs rising even higher in the new year. 

Demands for higher direct debit payments — at an average of an extra £1,600 a year — will be sent out within days. 

Stock image. School kids are pictured walking to school in the snow. Schools may ask students to bring own jumpers, but education heads are considering purchasing them for students who can’t afford them as heating costs soar

Steve Chalke, head of Oasis Academies, said turning off the heating altogether is not being considered — but that teachers might be asked to dial down the temperature to conserve cash during the winter months.

‘Whatever happens, we have got to keep the heating on in schools. We can’t allow students to freeze,’ he told the Sun. ‘We may be able to turn it down by a degree or two and ask everybody to wear jumpers.’

‘Schools may ask children to bring jumpers in, but we have a lot of students from poor socio-economic groups. So we will have to provide the jumpers.’

The news comes after Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi warned that millions of British households are going to struggle to pay soaring living costs.

Industry regulator Ofgem warned the Government it must act urgently to ‘match the scale of the crisis we have before us’ as Britain faced the bleak news on Friday.

The unprecedented hike means double-digit inflation is here to stay until possibly next winter, and dual-fuel bills could hit £6,600 a year.

The Chancellor refused to rule out freezing the energy cap, as France has done, insisting ‘nothing is off the table’.

Energy costs are expected to stay sky-high until at least 2024.

The price surge will drive inflation up to 14.2 per cent by January, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The surge means that some of the UK’s poorest households will now be spending 25 per cent of their income just on energy bills.

Energy bills are expected to peak at £6,616 between April and June next year before falling down to £5,900 by December – almost three times the current rate

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