Basic items such as toothpaste are having to be provided by teachers.
The hygiene levels of a growing number of children attending primary schools are so bad that teachers are having to provide basic items of personal hygiene to large numbers of them.
A survey carried out by charity In Kind Direct shows that one in three teachers are providing pupils with products such as toothpaste and soap, while 80 per cent of primary school teachers have seen a rise in the number of children arriving at school unwashed or not looking presentable in the last five years.
Across Britain, 18 per cent of teachers say they intervene on a weekly basis – with the rate as high as 50 per cent in London.