Free school meals requests are increasing

More than 15% of councils have seen an increase in requests for free school meals, with nearly a quarter of those expecting that statistic to rise in the future. The school meals figures coincide with news that demand for school places has also increased over the last six months. Possible causes include a reduction in the number of parents paying for private education, and families who would normally move out of major cities when their children reach school age, being unable to sell their homes because of the standstill in the housing market. Cllr Les Lawrence, chairman of the LGA's Children and Young People's board, said: "Predicting how many school places will be needed from year to year is a complex issue. Councils do their best to produce accurate calculations on how many children will be starting in their schools, but it is not an exact science and will vary from area to area. "Councils which are being affected by shortages for next September will be aware of the problem and will be reviewing their data for the coming years. In the short-term councils will be working with schools to help them find extra capacity and draft in extra teachers and support staff, but there also needs to be an emphasis on improving methods of forecasting for the future." Chris Wainwright, School Food Trust comments: "We're not surprised that councils are seeing an increase in requests for free school meals; the recession continues to hit families hard. All households with an income of less than £16,040 could be eligible and should contact their local council to ensure they are not missing out on claiming what's theirs. Don't imagine that if you work then you are automatically ineligible, there lots of ways families can claim." Our own research estimates that 24%, which is over 334,000 children in England who are entitled to free school meals aren't claiming. We want all eligible families to be able to access the right to free school meals - it's not just about saving money its guaranteeing your children a nutritious lunch that can actually help them perform better at school." Service demands – requests for free school meals Over the past six months, has your authority experienced, or do you anticipate, additional demands on its services as a result of the economic downturn? Number of CouncilsPercentage Experienced over past six months2215.5% Anticipated3524.6% Neither experienced nor anticipated2316.2% Don't know6243.7% Total142100.0%