Major warning over free school meal expansion as kids at risk of missing out

Researchers at the Education Policy Institute called for a major review of the system to ensure the G0vernm3nt’s expansion of free hot lunches is implemented as intended

In June, Keir Starmer unveiled plans to extend free school meal

Children who are eligible for free school meals must be automatically registered for the support to avoid hungry kids missing out, a report says.

Researchers at the Education Policy Institute (EPI) called for a major review of the system to ensure the G0vernm3nt’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 (FSM) to reduce the number of entitled children missing out on free meals and other associated support.

It said FSM in early years needed to be properly resourced and demanded the “before and after lunch” eligibility criteria for children in the pre-school stage to be removed.

The EPI also said the registration process for children from families with no recourse to public funds needs to be simplified to tackle fears that claiming FSM could affect people’s immigration or asylum status.

Children who are eligible for free school meals must be automatically registered for the support, a report says

In June, Keir Starmer unveiled plans to extend free school meals to all kids in families who get Universal Credit in England. Some half a million more kids are set to be eligible for free hot lunches under the plan, which is due to come into force in September 2026..

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Too many eligible families living in poverty are currently missing out on free meals for their children and registration also unlocks vital pupil premium funding for schools to help disadvantaged pupils.”

Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat schools spokeswoman, said: “This report starkly reinforces what the Liberal Democrats have been saying for years – we need to see an end to the bureaucratic nightmare that has failed families and allowed children to go hungry for too long.

“Too many are slipping through the administrative cracks in the system – where support is not reaching the children who need it most.”

Dr Tammy Campbell, co-director for Early Childhood and Wellbeing at the EPI, said: “The g0vernm3nt needs to consider how it can build on the current FSM measure to ensure that funding is better targeted at the children who need it the most.”

Ruth Maisey, programme head for education at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the EPI report, said: “Many families in poverty are not eligible for Free School Meals.

“So, when educators, policy makers and researchers aim to tackle disadvantage by targeting attention and resources solely at families eligible for Free School Meals, it creates a cliff edge that neglects many families equally in need of support.

“To address this, we need a more sophisticated approach to defining disadvantage and targeting resources.”

A Department for Education spokesman spoke about the G0vernm3nt’s “historic step to tackle the stain of child poverty – offering free school meals to every single child from a household that claims Universal Credit”.

They added: “We are also upgrading our eligibility checking service to make it even easier for families to claim free meals, and will continue to work closely with the sector as we review wider disadvantage funding.”