Moving from a two-bedroom flat to a four-bedroom house has given Karen Campbell’s children room to do their homework.

“At the old place, I was sharing a bedroom with my daughters and six wardrobes,” Karen explains, “so it was really cramped and stuffy. Now there is space for them to do their homework properly.”

The family moved into a new house in Dagenham, built last year. Her landlord, London and Quadrant Housing Trust, put an extra room into the loft of each house after research showed that a lack of quiet space was affecting children’s educational attainment.

Fortunately, the space doesn’t qualify as an extra bedroom in rent calculations, so Karen can still afford to live there.

The extra space has made a big difference to her family, she says. “My eldest son has Asperger’s Syndrome, so it’s really important he has his own space. Now we all have loads of room.”

The houses were built with the aid of a £1.9 million grant from the Housing Corporation.