Already, 800,000 children living in poverty in England do not qualify for free school meals, according to the Child Poverty Action Group, and now headteachers are bracing for a rise in the number of homes that cannot afford to feed them. correctly. “Last winter, I already had a group of children standing around the radiator outside my office every morning because they had no heating at home and needed to get warm,” said Paul Gosling, head of Exeter Road Community Primary School in Exmouth. “We’re going to have a lot more kids going to school hungry.” Gosling, who is president of the National Association of Principals union, said his school was worried about how it would afford to keep the lights on, “let alone help the families,” but said he would not leave any children behind. to stay hungry. Jonny Uttley, chief executive of the Education Alliance academy trust, which runs seven schools in Hull and the East Riding, said: “This [food poverty] is the biggest challenge schools will face. More and more children will go to school hungry. It will go well beyond the definition of free school meals now.” He added that “even before the horrendous energy cap went up”, he was planning measures such as breakfast clubs and uniform vouchers because of the growing poverty in his schools. But now “the potential scale of the problem is much worse.” In England, all infant pupils are entitled to free school meals from reception to year two, but beyond that only children whose parents earn less than £7,400 a year are entitled. But increasing the price cap for the average gas and electricity bill to £3,549 a year from October will mean many earning more than that will face a tough choice between food and heating. Marcus Rashford forced Boris Johnson to extend free school meals in November 2020. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty Images It took a campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford to force Boris Johnson to renew free school meals for the lowest income families during the school holidays in November 2020. The reversal came after a firestorm of criticism from charities. the opposition and the media from both sides of the political divide. This summer, the Government again funded local authorities to offer eligible children one free meal a day and free activities as part of its holiday activities and nutrition scheme. But Labor has criticized it as a “part-time” initiative that only runs four days a week for four weeks during the summer holidays, leaving children hungry for the rest of the year. Charities are angry that the threshold for free school meals has not changed since 2018, despite rising inflation. Uttley believes the government should introduce universal free school meals because so many families will be in desperate need despite being above the government’s poverty line. “The government did an excellent thing with the leave in the pandemic, because it had to,” he said. “It’s hard to see that child hunger isn’t as important as this and doesn’t require such a radical level of thinking.” Richard Murphy, an economic justice campaigner and professor of accountancy at the University of Sheffield, said free school meals for all children in state schools was the only possible solution. “Within months we will face the worst financial crisis anyone has ever seen alive,” he said. “The government must act quickly and universally as the cost of not doing so is not just child poverty but child hunger and that cannot be acceptable.” The Welsh Government has committed to free school meals for all primary school children by 2024 and ministers have said they will try to push it forward. Ahead of the last Holyrood election, the SNP pledged to offer free breakfast and lunch to all primary-age children by August this year, although this has yet to be achieved. We already have thermals and fleece pajamas to avoid putting the heating on Single mother A single mother in Tyne and Wear, who spoke to the Observer on condition of anonymity, said despite being on universal credit and worried about juggling food and bills this winter, her two sons are not eligible for free primary school meals them because she earns £728 a month working part-time in education administration. He said: “We already have thermals and fleece pajamas so we can avoid putting the heating on. Children have [free] swimming lessons, which we have considered a hair-washing day to avoid bathing at home. “The ceiling on free school meals is too low,” he added. “Obviously we are poor but not poor enough.” Andy Jolley, former headteacher and free school meals campaigner, said: “It’s incredibly difficult to qualify for free school meals. A lot of people who have lost their jobs, who you would think should be eligible, just aren’t.” He added: “Registration is not automatic. Parents have to tell the school and then go through a complicated process to apply. Often due to barriers such as language or fear of stigma, families do not claim.” A Department for Education spokesman said: “More than 2,000 schools are currently signed up to the National School Breakfast Programme. We are investing up to £24 million in the scheme and are expanding eligibility in January to reach more schools in disadvantaged areas. “We also provide 1.9 million children with free school meals, as well as welfare support for families in need through the Household Support Fund.”
