Greenock children get help to keep warm this winter

Children In Poverty recently handed out £1,500 worth of coats and jackets in Greenock east end nurseries and schools.

It is part of the charity's annual Christmas appeal as they continue to widen support in recognition of the scale of need, with many working families now struggling.  

This year the charity, founded by businessman Pat Burke, is also organising family trips, on top of the warm clothing donations and the annual toy appeal.

All Saints Head Teacher Lesley McCabe told the Tele that it would make a huge difference in their school where 80 per cent of pupils comes from areas where there is the highest levels of deprivation.

She said: "This makes all the difference in the world.

"It means that no child in our school will miss out on outdoor learning or play because they don't have appropriate clothing.

"Warm clothing is expensive and we all know the difficulties every family is facing with the cost of living crisis.

"We do a lot of work in the school to make sure that we are supporting families who need it the most. 

"But funding is tight in schools now, as it is across the council, so help like this from Children in Poverty is so appreciated.

"We get great support from Children in Poverty Inverclyde and also Morton in the Community.

"Thanks to them our children don't miss on playing football or going to a game. They get the same opportunities as other children."

Hillend Children's Centre (Image: George Munro) Within All Saints Primary's catchment area 80 per cent of families live in areas with the highest levels of poverty the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) zones 1 and 2,  official government tool to measure deprivation.

Children in Poverty Inverclyde was set up by founder Pat Burke in recognition of the high levels of deprivation in the area. 

The latest council figures show that 18 per cent of local children are living in absolute poverty around 23 per cent classes as coming from the lowest income household.

Trustee George Wall, who is also on the board of the fans run Morton Club Together, visited All Saints as well as Gibshill Children's Centre and Hillend Children's Centre, which has both mainstream and youngsters with additional support needs.

He said: "It is wonderful to be able to help, this is what Children in Poverty Inverclyde is all about. But we couldn't do it without the generosity of our donors."

Thanks to funding from Inverclyde businessman David Carroll and others they were able to fund the warm clothing initiative.

Gibshill Children's Centre (Image: George Munro) At Gibshill Children's Centre they were over the moon with the outdoor clothing.

Youngsters from the nursery lined up with head of centre Janine Burns, to thank the charity for helping some of their.

Janine, who has been in charge for 11 years, said: "This will make such a difference to many of our families.

"Thanks to Children in Poverty we will be able to give some families peace of mind. 

"I think times are really tough for people, even for working families it is a struggle right now. It is across the board now."

Children in Poverty Inverclyde hand over warm clothes to Gibshill Children's Centre (Image: George Munro) At Hillend Children's Centre there was also a fantastic response to the generous donations.

Depute head Joyce Patrick said that with the nursery helping mainstream and those with additional support needs, they recognise the need out there.

She said: "I think sometimes when your child has additional support needs there is even more of a pressure. To be able to help our parents in this way, it means so much to us."

Children in Poverty Inverclyde also have an ongoing toy appeal.