AROUND 38 children a day were made homeless in Scotland last year, according to a new study.

Shelter Scotland said its analysis shows that 14,075 children were in households assessed as being homeless north of the border in 2017/18 - the equivalent of six or seven children in every school.

On one day in March, 6,615 children were living in temporary accommodation - the fourth consecutive year in which the figure has risen, the charity said.

It described the scale of child homelessness as “shocking” and said it can have “drastic” effects on young people.

The Scottish Government said it is working with others to implement a range of measures to tackle the problem.

The figures are contained within policy briefings published by the charity.

It found that, on average, households spent 171 days - just under six months - in temporary accommodation last year.

However, homeless families with children were having to spend an average of 25% longer living in temporary accommodation than households without children, the reports showed.

Some 13% of households were in temporary accommodation for a year or longer, the analysis suggested.

Alison Watson, deputy director of Shelter Scotland, said: “The sheer scale of homelessness among children in Scotland is damning on our society. For the equivalent of a class and a half of schoolchildren to be made homeless every day just isn’t right.

“The fact families with children then have to endure the limbo of temporary accommodation longer than other homeless households just compounds their misery. This has got to stop.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are clear that one person being made homeless is too many, particularly in households which include children.

“This is why preventing homelessness is one of our key priorities. While temporary accommodation provides an important safety net in emergency situations, we want any time there to be as short as possible.

“Last month our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group, which included Shelter Scotland on its membership, set out a comprehensive suite of recommendations to tackle homelessness and we are now working with local authorities and a range of partners to put these into action.”