Pastoral care amid the cost of living crisis

Abstract

Welcome to the final issue of Volume 40 of Pastoral Care in Education. This has been a season of mixed emotions for our journal and its host organisation, the National Association of Pastoral Care in Education. We were saddened to learn that our journal editor for the past eight years, Professor Stan Tucker, has had to step down through ill-health. Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Stan over many years will be very aware of the immense contribution he has made to the growth and development of Pastoral Care in Education. His unrivalled pastoral knowledge and expertise, coupled with his enthusiasm and good humour made him a highly successful and popular editor, and we wish him well in his retirement and convalescence. As I take up the reins as Editor, with the support of Caron Carter and Amanda Hatton as Associate Editors, we are very conscious of standing on the shoulders of giants such as Stan. In the UK (in particular) we have been living through a period of unprecedented economic and political turmoil. The past few months have seen the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III, as well as the resignation of two British Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, in rapid succession. With rising energy and food prices (due in large part to the war in Ukraine) leading to soaring inflation, and efforts to restore stability through interest rate hikes (not to mention the failure of ‘Trussonomics’), many are warning that we are facing into a long, hard winter of discontent. Amid such times of recession, we must consider the impact on the pastoral care, emotional health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable children from already disadvantaged homes. As during the Covid-19 pandemic it is those living in poverty who will be disproportionately impacted by the current costof-living crisis, and those on higher incomes who will be most insulated against its impact. Already we are hearing stories from schools of children arriving to school hungry, of parents struggling to afford uniforms and of families (including those in work) unable to pay their heating and electricity bills and, increasingly, their mortgages. Unless action is taken, we could be looking at a serious humanitarian crisis. Becca Lyon, Head of Child Poverty at Save the Children has noted, ‘It is a full-blown economic crisis for thousands of families’ and has warned that many children ‘could spend this winter in cold homes, with fewer hot meals, despite the best efforts of their parents and carers. Our children deserve better’ (Lyon, 2022). PASTORAL CARE IN EDUCATION 2022, VOL. 40, NO. 4, 369–372 https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2022.2145546