# A child’s London

> School eligibility, family income and overcrowding reveal different dimensions of pressure on children.

- Category: People
- Canonical: [https://londongraph.com/story/a-childs-london](https://londongraph.com/story/a-childs-london)
- Machine-readable record: [https://londongraph.com/data/story/a-childs-london](https://londongraph.com/data/story/a-childs-london)
- Latest contributing release: 2026-08-02T22:24:18.849Z

No single administrative measure defines childhood hardship. These sources use different populations and years, so the story presents them beside one another without combining them into a score.

## Evidence

### Free-school-meal eligibility

The published share of pupils eligible under current administrative rules.

- Current computed headline: Islington — 47.81% (2025/26)
- London median: 28.25%
- Release: Academic year 2025/26
- Dataset: `children-on-free-school-meals`
- Explore: [children-on-free-school-meals](https://londongraph.com/g/children-on-free-school-meals)

### Children in low-income families

OHID’s borough administrative proxy before housing costs.

- Current computed headline: Tower Hamlets — 26.7% (2024/25)
- London median: 15.5%
- Release: Children in relative low-income families: 2024/25
- Dataset: `children-in-relative-low-income-families`
- Explore: [children-on-free-school-meals](https://londongraph.com/g/children-on-free-school-meals)

### Bedroom overcrowding

Census neighbourhood households below the bedroom occupancy standard.

- Current computed headline: Ealing 043B — 39.22% (2021)
- London median: 9.88%
- Release: Census 2021 TS052
- Dataset: `census-neighbourhood-overcrowding`
- Explore: [overcrowded-london](https://londongraph.com/g/overcrowded-london)

## Interpretation

The measures have different populations, periods and policy definitions. They are descriptive and do not identify individual children.

Every numerical claim is computed from the current versioned datasets at render time. Missing data is reported as missing rather than replaced.

## Sources

- [Department for Education](https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics)
- [Office for Health Improvement and Disparities](https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/)
- [Office for National Statistics / Nomis](https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2021/bulk)