13th Jan 2023 - 06:00
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Swaythling School in Southampton has been able to provide free school meals to children whose parents receive universal credit thanks to a donation from a pensioner, it was reported by BBC News.
Around 15 families have benefitted from the scheme and the school plans to fund the meals in the long-run by launching an after-school and breakfast club.
John Draper, headteacher at Swaythling School, told BBC News: "We've actually noticed over the last few years, although we can see deprivation has increased for the children, the eligibility has gone down slightly which is really surprising.
"Longer term, we want to run a breakfast club and after-school provision for those working parents who need it - the small profit we generate, we will reinvest into additional free school meals. For some families, it will be the only hot meal that a child is getting throughout the day."