In a damning report, the National Children's Bureau has found that child poverty could now be a bigger problem than during the 1960s, when it carried out its seminal study, 'Born to Fail?'

The report compares aspects of children's lives today to data from the 'Born to Fail?' cohort study of 11-year-olds, carried out in 1969. It finds that significantly more children are growing up in relative poverty today – 3.6 million compared with 2 million – and claims that these children suffer "devastating consequences throughout their lives".

It adds: "Today, although there have been some improvements, overall the situation appears to be no better, and in some respects has got worse."

The report finds that:

• A child from a disadvantaged background is still far less likely to achieve a good level of development at four than a child from a more privileged home.
• Children living in deprived areas are much more likely to be the victim of an unintentional injury or accident in the home.
• Children from the poorest areas are nine times less likely than those living in affluent areas to have access to green space, places to play and to live in environments with better air quality.
• Boys living in deprived areas are three times more likely to be obese than boys growing up in affluent areas, and girls are twice as likely.

Child poverty is right on our doorstep here in Brighton. 8 areas within the city fall within the 5% most deprived in England with a child poverty rate of 47%. Fun in Action is doing its best to tackle this but we need your help! By matching volunteer befrienders with children from disadvantaged families in Brighton we are making a tangible difference to children's lives and giving them hope for the future.

If you are interested in volunteering as a befriender or in making a donation towards our work please contact us.