Poverty blights the lives of children and young people (Ridge, 2009). Research has consistently shown that the most economically disadvantaged pupils across the United Kingdom (UK) have the poorest educational outcomes and that poverty has a pernicious effect on children's wellbeing (Sylva et al, 2008; Connelly et al, 2014; Strand, 2014). However, far less is known about the ways that poverty is differentially experienced for children and young people in schools within the four jurisdictions of the UK. Are there historical, social and cultural factors that make poverty a postcode lottery in terms of quality of schooling in the different parts of the UK? Are successful local interventions context specific as the research evidence seems to suggest (Van der Berg, 2008) or can we learn from particular regions or cities? This book reports on the findings of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Commission on Poverty and Policy Advocacy from the four UK jurisdictions of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales that arose out of similar questions. Anxieties about the growing inequality in the UK have to be contextualised historically, geographically and in terms of the distinct political and socioeconomic landscapes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The book explores the educational landscapes of poverty across the UK and highlights the importance of policy and place for the wellbeing and educational opportunities and outcomes of young people living in poverty. The chapters consider the implications of place for educational policy and practice of poverty and schooling.

The Commission's research highlighted significant differences between the political contexts of the four UK jurisdictions in terms of their conceptualisations and policy enactment around child poverty (Ivinson et al, 2017; Ivinson et al 2018). The Commission found that the UK is an increasingly divided nation both in terms of wealth and poverty and in the educational opportunities for young people living in poverty. While the education systems in Scotland and Wales to some degree reflect jurisdictional commitments to social justice that allows teachers to engage with young people living in poverty, the situation is more complex in England and Northern Ireland.