Teacher bought Christmas dinner and gifts for family after benefits stopped

The anonymous guidance teacher revealed how they, together with the school's deputy went to a supermarket after a tearful mother got in touch, saying she had no presents or food for her son.

In a letter to MSPs on Holyrood's Education Committee, who are examining how poverty impacts on attainment and achievement at school, the teacher said: "I would love a government minister to come to my school and shadow me for a week.

"That would give you an insight into poverty in Scotland and how front line services are being stretched to their limits."

In a separate submission to the committee, the NASUWT teaching union said that "teachers are now regularly giving increasing numbers of children food, clothes and equipment, at their own expense".

A survey it carried out of teachers in Scotland in 2016 showed 71% had seen pupils coming to school hungry, while 81% noticed youngsters attending classes without the correct equipment, and 79% were concerned about students lacking in energy and struggling to concentrate because of a poor diet.

The Scottish Government's Pupil Equity Fund is this year providing schools with £120 million - the same amount as in 2017-18 - to help close the attainment gap, with the money going direct to head teachers to determine what it can best be spent on.

But the head of English at one secondary school told MSPs: "The PEF money is a sticking plaster - it is merely a re-injection of the money that has been stripped out of Scottish education over the past decade, and even then it is not a permanent re-injection.

"The stresses in our system and on our teachers will only be addressed by a massive funding effort."

Another teacher, who works at a large secondary school in an affluent area of the central belt, said: "PEF money is not equivalent to the funding that has been cut in schools and is a temporary measure.

"There may come a time when this money (which is not sufficient in the first instance to close a widening social gap) is no longer awarded."

The guidance teacher who urged ministers to visit their school told how they had worked in the city with the "highest drug death rate in Europe" for 13 years.

"Poverty has increased and is impacting on the well-being of children on a daily basis," the teacher said.

"There are many children refusing to attend school. There is a distinct lack of services to help these children. They cannot attain if we cannot get them to engage in education.

"Staff such as myself visit homes and offer to bring these kids into school. Social work services have been cut massively and increasing families turn to school for support, however we often cannot provide the support at home that the families need."

The teacher said their school had achieved "some of the highest attaining results for young people living in poverty in Scotland".

They added: "We have a daily breakfast club which is free for our pupils. We have a cupboard full of clothing that we can give to pupils. Staff donate clothing to children very often.

"I've had pupils not attending school because they don't have shoes or uniform. I've bought jackets for children who don't have one.

"Every Christmas our staff donate hundreds of gifts and food hampers to our families. I've had a parent phoning me in tears as her benefits were stopped and she had no food or present for her boy at Christmas.

"My depute head and I went to Tesco and bought the family a Christmas dinner and gifts for the family. "

They continued: "My workload is totally overwhelming these days. We are in work from 7.30am, work through our breaks late into the evenings. We are now social workers, mental health workers as well as teachers.

"I never feel like I do anything well but my pupils are my priority and I'd do anything to help them.

"I think the Government should be recognising how much extra we do to support our pupils. Teachers feel grossly undervalued, underpaid and demoralised."