Back to school: Over 100 organisations welcome free school meal expansion

As children return to school across England, all children in households receiving Universal Credit will become eligible for free school meals from 1 September.

The change is the biggest expansion of free school meal eligibility in more than a decade, since Universal Infant Free School Meals were introduced in 2014. It will give hundreds of thousands more children access to a nutritious meal during the school day, while saving families around £500 per child each year.

Sustain has joined with over 100 organisations to welcome this important milestone in a joint statement coordinated by the School Food Review. Signatories include school leaders' unions ASCL, NAHT and the NEU; children’s, food and anti-poverty organisations including School Food Matters, Child Poverty Action Group,  Bite Back, The Food Foundation and The Children’s Society; plus health, food support and academic institutions. Many Sustain members and allies, including Bremner and Co, Chefs in Schools, the Independent Food Aid Network, British Dietetic Organisation and many local food partnerships have also supported the statement.

Parents, young people, teachers and chefs have also joined the celebration via a new short film.

The statement says:

“Today many thousands more children across England will be fuelled for learning thanks to a free school meal. As organisations working in schools and with children, we know this is a huge boost for children and families.”

“We commend the government on this substantive change that will be felt in classrooms and households across England, igniting children's learning and giving parents welcome breathing space, saving them around £500 per year.”

“Today marks an important commitment to children. Government must continue to build on this by doing more to create a great school food system and taking steps to tackle child poverty.”

See the statement and full list of all signatories

Leading the calls, Sustain's member Stephanie Slater MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, said:

"This is a hugely important moment for children and families across England. Free school meals can take pressure off household budgets and mean children are properly fuelled to learn and make the most of their school day.

"We welcome this major expansion and the difference it will make to families. Now we need to build on it, with a school food system that gives every child access to nutritious, delicious and sustainable food, wherever they live."

Barbara Crowther, Sustain's Children's Food Campaign Manager adds: 

"The school bell is ringing in a new era with the biggest expansion of school meal access in England in a generation. This is more than a meal. It's a boost to children's health and learning, a sound investment in the next generation and a lifeline for families experiencing financial pressure. We welcome this important milestone in the journey towards our vision of healthy, sustainable school food for all."

To further celebrate the expansion of school meals, Sustain also invited young people, parents, teachers and chefs to share what school meals mean for them personally in a new short film for the School Food Review: Why School Meals Matter.

Kwasi, 16, says in the film:

“I feel like when you have a healthy meal in front of you, it just gives you that confidence that you can get through the day.”

Dan, parent to one child and a Food Foundation ambassador, says in the film:

“Free hot school meals give children the nutrition they need and ensure families on Universal Credit aren’t forced to choose between food and other essentials.”

Meanwihle new research from Child Poverty Action Group also reveals how families newly eligible for free school meals (FSM) anticipate what the policy change will mean for them. Sixty per cent of parents polled said their new eligibility for FSM would help their children’s health, while the same proportion said it would help with household debts. Seventy per cent said having to pay for packed lunch or school meals in the previous academic year had meant worrying that they could not afford other things for children like school trips or clubs.

School leaders have strongly backed the expansion, whilst also calling for additional support and adequate funding to ensure they and their catering partners are able to deliver the change, and ensure healthy food on children's plates. 

Paul Whiteman, General Secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:

"The expansion of free school meals is a hugely welcome step as children return to the classroom this term. School leaders see first-hand the impact hunger can have on children's wellbeing, concentration and ability to learn. Extending eligibility to more families will make a real difference, helping to ensure thousands more children are properly fuelled for learning while providing support for more households facing ongoing cost pressures."

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“Expanding free school meal eligibility in this way is absolutely the right thing to do. It will ease cost pressures on many struggling families and ensure that more children are assured of a good, nutritious meal. That, in turn, has an educational benefit as they are then more likely to be in a good condition to learn.

"School leaders have already put in immense efforts to prepare for delivery of this policy so that young people and their families can benefit at the beginning of the academic year.”

The School Food Review's vision is that every child should have equal access to delicious, nutritious, and sustainable school food so they are ready to learn and thrive.

As parent of two and Children's Food Ambassador Florine Nikound says in the film:

“My vision for school meals is as a national asset. Universal free meals in primary through secondary schools. Everyone deserves a healthy, delicious school meal!”

More comments from supporting organisations

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“Expanding free school meal eligibility in this way is absolutely the right thing to do. It will ease cost pressures on many struggling families and ensure that more children are assured of a good, nutritious meal. That, in turn, has an educational benefit as they are then more likely to be in a good condition to learn.

“School leaders have already put in immense efforts to prepare for delivery of this policy so that young people and their families can benefit at the beginning of the academic year.”

John Draper, headteacher at a Southampton primary school, said:

"Access to a daily nutritious school meal makes an enormous difference to children - their concentration is better, attendance is better, and there are also huge gains in social skills to be had from the simple act of sitting at a table and sharing a meal together. These gains are particularly noticeable in children who have not previously had access to a school meal.  

“There are also wider, societal benefits to families. Most families on Universal Credit are working families and the increased access will take financial pressure off some of our hardest pressed families."

Kate Anstey, Head of Education for Child Poverty Action Group said:

“Ring the bell for this school year - it’s one to celebrate as more kids get free meals to fuel them through the day. Children in hard-up families will get the food they need to learn and thrive and there will be a little more money at home - for parents it’s a bit of all-important breathing space. Government must build on these gains by tackling living costs and further investing in children and their futures in the forthcoming Budget.”     

Mark Russell OBE, CEO of The Children’s Society said: 

"The expansion of free school meals is very welcome, benefiting hundreds of thousands of children across England. It's a major milestone in tackling child poverty and a lifeline for families struggling to make ends meet. But hunger doesn't stop when term time ends – children need this support in the school holidays too."