Simplify and expand free school meals, urge councils
More than a million additional school children could receive free school meals (FSM) and be entitled to extra support funding if the sign-up process for the scheme was simplified and extended to more families, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). The LGA, which represents councils, is calling for the introduction of automatic enrolment for FSM. This would replace the current system where families are required to apply to their local council or via their academy school.
The LGA estimate that automatic enrolment could capture the approximately 11 per cent of eligible school children who have not yet taken up FSM, equating to around 215,000 school children in England under the current eligibility criteria. However the LGA is also calling for the government to review the current £7,400 income threshold for FSM, in order to reach more children who are on the cusp of experiencing food poverty as household budgets are squeezed by rising prices and inflation. They are also seeking for the eligibility criteria for FSM to be expanded, and last week the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed that they will permanently extend FSM eligibility to children with ‘no recourse to public funds’, who were previously excluded because of their parents’ immigration status.
Automatic enrolling of school children who are eligible for FSM and expanding the criteria for the scheme were among the recommendations in the National Food Strategy, written by businessman and campaigner Henry Dimbleby. The government is expected to publish a food strategy white paper shortly, and the LGA wants to see these recommendations included in that document.
A further consequence of expanded FSM enrolment is that it would in turn potentially generate tens of millions of pounds in extra pupil premium funding for schools, as pupil premium is allocated based on the number of FSM claims per school.
Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the LGA’s Resources Board, said: ‘Rising food, fuel and other costs affect everybody, but particularly low-income households with children who rely on extra support to make ends meet. Given these pressures, it is absolutely essential that all those who are eligible can get the help they need, including access to free school meals, at a time when we know the price of food and the general cost of living are spiralling.’
Responding to the LGA’s call, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: ‘NAHT has long called for children to be automatically enrolled to receive free school meals, using the information councils already hold about their family situation. This would take away the barrier of stigma for parents. Children who are hungry cannot learn as well as they might be able to. Free school meals at least guarantee that children get one nutritious meal a day. Currently more than one in ten eligible children miss out on their free school meals entitlement. We must do all that we can to extend that entitlement to every child that is going hungry.’
A DfE spokesperson said: ‘We want to ensure every eligible child has access to free school meals, which is why we have expanded access to them more than any other government in recent decades. We encourage schools to help children sign up for free school meals and work with councils to make the checking process more straightforward. We are continually considering what further steps we could take to improve the take-up of FSM, and welcome ideas and contributions on the best ways to do that.’