All children in reception to year 2 are eligible to receive free school meals. Children in Years 3 to 6 only receive free school meals if they live in households on Universal Credit earning less than £7,400 a year - after tax and not including benefits.
The Education Committee has suggested some improvements to the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill such as free school meals auto-enrolment, breakfast club inclusion for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, assess mental health of children in care and to develop a ‘national care offer’.
Experts told the committee that one in ten children who are currently eligible miss out because of language barriers or difficulty with the admin process. They also stated failing to legislate for auto-enrolment would be a ‘missed opportunity’ to feed hungry children at school.
MP Helen Hayes, chair of the Education Committee, commented: “The committee has made recommendations designed to strengthen support for the most vulnerable children in society, based on compelling evidence from experts and from young people who shared with us their deeply moving experiences of life in care.
“This report urges the Government to tackle the postcode lottery of support offered to young people leaving care; to ensure that children whose parents struggle to put food on the table at home can get a proper meal at school.
“While we welcome the Government’s ambition in this Bill, my colleagues and I from across the political parties were disappointed by how the Government has rushed this Bill through the House of Commons at the expense of time for proper scrutiny. With such wide-ranging reforms that will have dramatic, lasting consequences for children and families, the DfE’s need for speed should not have been prioritised over diligent examination of evidence.”