'No child should have to go to school in someone else's underwear': Halifax charity founder on battle to end child poverty
Mothershare was set up 11 years ago and Kim Sneddon says the situation has got WORSE
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
No mundane natter about how wet or cold it is because today’s edition is an important one.
For it, I chatted to Kim Sheddon, one of the founders of Mothershare, a charity in Halifax
Kim and her sister set the charity up 11 years ago and she admits she didn’t think she’d still be needed all these year’s later.
But, thankfully, she is because she says the problem of child poverty has worsened over the last decade.
I’ll admit to being quite emotional after I’d spoken to Kim and hugely inspired by the great work her and the rest of the Mothershare team do for families across the borough.
We’ve also got a couple of choice bits of news in our usual Calderdale Digest.
Don’t forget you can get in touch with me if you have any story tip, comments or observations via email at calderdale@thelead.uk.
And if you want to help support the Calderdale Lead then we have a very special offer for November - a paid subscription for just £34.30 - that’s a 30% saving on the usual cost.
So, on with the news…
Calderdale Digest
🏀 West Yorkshire “should be embarrassed” at the lack of facilities for sports like basketball and netball – a sport expert has claimed.
A report into whether the region would be able to sustain a 5,000 seat indoor sports arena went before members of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Culture, Heritage and Sport Committee on Friday.
The study came due to calls for a facility in West Yorkshire that could host basketball, netball and ice hockey matches.
Dr Mark Mills, an academic, basketball commentator and expert, had told the committee last year that the area was sorely lacking in a facility where professional teams could play to crowds – with Leeds Rhinos netball team playing many of their home games in Sheffield.
He had argued that a 5,000 seat facility in West Yorkshire would attract large crowds on a regular basis, and help keep young sports stars from leaving the region.
It was also hoped that any profit could be used to support grassroots sports.
🚌 A Brighouse primary school which is short of space is seeking temporary permission for a portable building for staff – for two years – and a permanent new car park.
Calderdale Council wants to make the changes at Field Lane Primary School, at Burnsall Road, Rastrick.
If approved, this will involve placing the new block – a single storey building – at the front of the school’s main site, which currently includes parking space.
It will include a staff room, a meeting room, some storage space and toilets which will serve a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) unit which is being housed in the former Children’s Centre part of the building, says a supporting statement produced for the applicant by the company Portakabin.
In the application to the authority’s planners, it says siting the portable building here will mean 17 spaces of the existing car park will be lost.
In turn, the application seeks permission for creating 380 square metres of new hardstanding in order to create a new 500 square metre car park with space for 16 cars.
A smaller portion of existing car park space – still available after the portable building has been put up – will also still be able to be used for some parking.
‘Child poverty is getting worse and that’s unbelievable in 2025’
By Andrew Greaves
When Kim Sheddon and her sister Emma Jayne Carter set up the Halifax-based charity Mothershare, they didn’t know how long they would be needed.
The mission statement was simple: to provide essential equipment and clothing for babies and children, supporting parents and carers in meeting basic needs and improving lives.
Now, 11 years after its formation, Mothershare is helping more families across Calderdale than ever before.
Kim, who works full-time as a hairdresser alongside the incredible work she does at Mothershare, said: “It’s been quite the 11 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes. There are a lot more agencies doing things that are similar to us, and if they’re dealing with the same numbers as we are, then things are definitely getting worse, not better.
“It’s families at every stage. It’s not just a family with one newborn; it’s families with multiple children.
“If I look at the referrals I have in front of me, there’s an eight-month-old baby, but then there’s a three-year-old who has a one-year-old brother, and a boy of four with an 11-year-old sibling. It’s parents at every stage who are struggling.
“We have a lot of families needing clothing. We have a big thing here that no child should have to go to school in someone else’s underwear.
“It’s just a big no-no. I’d rather spend my own money and buy it rather than see a child have to do that. We don’t get many donations of new underwear, but that’s something we need.
“And things like cots and prams, because they’re so expensive.
“We’ve got a family we’re working with at the minute, and it’s mum and dad and they’ve got two toddler-aged children, and they’re all sharing a bed.
“We’re going to provide them with a toddler bed, but that will only last them 12 months, so we’re going to suggest that if they can put £5 a week away, they can buy a single bed for that child.”
According to the latest figures, child poverty in Calderdale affects almost 20% of children, with some areas having rates over 40%.
Nationally, as The Lead has been highlighting, child poverty is at a record high of 31%, which equates to 4.5 million children for the year to April 2024.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to scrap the two-child benefit cap in her Budget later this month – a move that could lift as many as 630,000 children out of ‘absolute’ poverty – but Kim says more needs to be done to break cycles and tackle the root of the issue.
She said: “I think we need to teach budgeting in schools so that children know these things. We’ve got working people living on the breadline, and they’re worse off than people on benefits.
“And there is some help available, but if you don’t know what that help is, they don’t tell you. It’s like you’ve got to know to be able to access it, and that’s just wrong.”
While most of the focus around child poverty is often on babies and younger children, Kim feels that older children – especially teenagers – are left out of the conversation, and they suffer just as much.
“If you’ve got a little one in your family, you’ve got your health visitor, you’ve got your midwife, you’ve got your hospital visits. You’re on somebody’s radar.
“But as soon as you go to high school, there’s nothing. There are so many children in high school who, I think, are left to their own devices; they’re forgotten about. People think they can fend for themselves, but they often can’t.”
Almost to prove the point, most of the donations of clothing Mothershare receives are for younger children. And the clothing they do get donated for teens can often lead to more issues.
Kim said: “The clothes we get in for teenagers are clothes that they’re going to wear. If it doesn’t have a logo on it, they just won’t wear it because they’ll get bullied at school, and that causes even more problems for them.
“We don’t want kids getting beaten up in the park because they’ve got a pair of Asda trainers on, so we’re really looking for donations that they can feel comfortable in.”
While help is available around the clock, all year round, Mothershare’s focus is shifting to Christmas.
Each year, Mothershare launches its Christmas appeal, urging people to buy a gift for a child that the charity helps, ensuring no child goes without.
The appeal involves what it calls a Gifting Tree – local clubs, salons, shops, etc., can have a tree with tags on which customers can take, buy a present for that child, and drop it back off ready for wrapping.
The appeal is already underway, and you can find more information about that, and the services that Mothershare offers, by clicking here.
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading.
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Until Sunday, have a great week…
Andrew