A headteachers’ union has backed calls for free school meals (FSM) eligibility to be done automatically to avoid disadvantaged pupils missing out.
It comes after a new analysis from the Liberal Democrats suggested that nearly a quarter of a million pupils who are eligible to receive FSM are not registered for them.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the union fully supports changing the current process and said it was “slightly mystifying why this is not already the case”.
Mr Barton said it was of “vital importance” that “all children eligible for free school meals should receive this entitlement and it is deeply worrying that so many currently miss out because they are not registered”.
“We fully support the idea of changing the current process to one of auto-enrolment and, frankly, it is slightly mystifying why this is not already the case.”
Mr Barton said the union also supports calls for eligibility for free school meals to be extended to all families in receipt of universal credit.
He said it was a “simple and effective measure the government could implement almost immediately which would help to support children whose families are struggling to put food on the table”.
Children could be missing out on free school meals
Yesterday, new analysis from the Liberal Democrats suggested almost a quarter of a million eligible pupils in England could be missing out.
The Liberal Democrats warned that 234,500 children entitled to FSM in England may not be registered for them, after submitting a written question to ministers.
The party has called on the government to automate the process to reach those children missing out, suggesting the use of social security records to set up an automatic enrolment process.
In December, the Department for Education revealed that the latest estimate for the number of school pupils entitled to free school meals but not registered for them was more than one in 10 (11 per cent).
The figure was published earlier this month in response to a parliamentary question tabled by Liberal Democrats education spokesperson Munira Wilson MP.
The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils live in households that are claiming benefits related to FSM.
A DfE spokesperson said: “We understand the pressures many households are under - that is why we are supporting more children and young people than ever before.
“Over a third of pupils in England currently receive free school meals in education settings and we have just announced a further investment in the National School Breakfast Programme, extending the programme for another year until July 2024 backed by up to £30 million.
“In addition, 8 million of the most vulnerable households will get at least £1,200 of cost-of-living support this year on top of benefit from the Energy Price Guarantee - meaning they will be eligible for support that exceeds the average rise in energy bills by hundreds of pounds.”
