More than half of parents whose children will be newly eligible for free school meals do not know they will qualify, alarming research shows. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) found 55% are unaware that all kids whose mums and dads receive Universal Credit will be entitled to lunches under a major expansion of the policy from next month.
Survey findings on school meal costs
The group also found that eight in 10 parents (80%) said they have struggled with the cost of school meals or packed lunches, while more than a third - 34% - have or have owed dinner money debt to their child's school in the last year. And six in 10 have been spending £15 or more per child each week on food for the school day, with nearly one in five (17%) spending over £30.
Former PM Keir Starmer last year announced an extension of free school meals to all children in families who receive Universal Credit, which comes into force next month, and could benefit some 500,000 kids.
Calls for government action
CPAG's head of education policy Kate Anstey said: "Our survey shows wider eligibility for free school meals will give hard-up families some badly- needed breathing space. But September is only weeks away and our new analysis shows the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) and DfE (Department for Education) have left the job half done. With so many families struggling, it's on government to ensure the country's children get what little help is available."
To receive a free school meal, children must be registered but schools don't automatically know which families are newly eligible because they don't hold information on which parents receive benefits. Following its polling, CPAG is calling on the Government to do more ahead of September to ensure that every child gets the meal they are entitled to from day one. It argues that the DWP and DfE have the data and the means of informing parents and must utilise these to make sure that all eligible parents know that they qualify and know what they need to do to register.
Expert recommendations and official response
Other experts and campaigners have long warned that children who are eligible for free school meals must be automatically registered for the support to avoid hungry kids missing out. In a report last October, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) called for a major review of the system to ensure the Government's expansion of free hot lunches is implemented as intended. In a series of recommendations, the EPI called for a national system of centralised auto-enrolment for free school meals to reduce the number of entitled children missing out on free lunches and other associated support.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We're working closely with schools and councils to make sure every eligible family knows about it. So if you're a parent and you're not sure whether your child qualifies - just ask the school." Survation surveyed 201 parents in England on Universal Credit whose children are currently ineligible for free school meals but will qualify for them from September between June 26 and August 6.
