The Schools Minister has reiterated his pledge to tackle a growing health crisis facing kids – from vape addictions to child obesity.
Stephen Morgan has vowed to “grow the healthiest generation of young people” amid increasing health issues facing Britain’s young. Speaking to the Mirror, he said the issue of vaping is “obviously something we’re very live to” amid reports of students increasingly vaping in lessons or skipping class to vape in the toilets.
The Government has already promised to restrict advertising of vapes – including bright packaging or fun flavours – and will ban disposable vapes in the summer. Mr Morgan added: “If people are reporting that further action is needed, I’d certainly be keen to have a look at that.”
The education minister emphasised a “real challenge” schools are facing is kids turning up to Reception already far behind, with some wearing nappies or being unable to share or play with other children. He praised new guidance from charity Kindred which is helping parents understand what their kids should be able to do before going to school.
Guidance will offer practical steps for parents to build skills into their child’s daily lives, including teaching them how to use cutlery, use the toilet by themselves, share toys, brush their teeth and hang their coat up.
Mr Morgan said: “It’s a real challenge. I hear that every time I do a visit to a school or a nursery, some of the challenges that families are facing. We’re really clear on this. We’re taking this really seriously.”
He admitted there was a place for government too, listing Labour ’s work to tackle child obesity, curb teen vaping and to introduce supervised toothbrushing for hundreds of thousands of children between three and five years old. Recent official data showed more than 49,000 young people under 19 were admitted to hospital for tooth extraction in the financial year ending 2024.
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Mr Morgan emphasised the importance of cross-government work, including cracking down on fast food advertising targeted at kids or giving local authorities more powers to stop takeaway outlets opening near schools.
More than 60% of teachers say that students are frequently leaving lessons to vape, while a shocking 17% say kids vape in the lesson itself, a grim NASUWT teachers’ union survey found last month.
More widely, he said: “Health is a barrier to learning, and that’s why I’m really pleased to be part of a government that’s a mission driven government that’s bringing different government departments together to grow the healthiest generation of young people and also break down those barriers to opportunity.”
But critics say poverty is a key cause of health issues among children – and that Labour’s decision to keep the two-child benefit limit only contributes to this. Equally their recent announcement of cuts to sickness and disability benefits is set to push some 50,000 kids into poverty, according to official analysis.
All eyes will be on the Labour government’s child poverty strategy, which is due to be published in the coming months, to see how serious ministers are about curing ill health among Britain’s children.
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