Some parts of the UK are still so poor that life "mirrors the times of Dickens", a teachers' leader has said.
Children from some of the poorest communities are coming to school unable to dress themselves or use a knife and fork, according to Lesley Ward.
And the new president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said some are not even toilet trained.
These kids face such deprivation that schools face a tough task to change their life chances, she declared.
