Managing a means-tested school meal system is “complex” and “time-consuming” for schools, a report has warned.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has called for an urgent review of the free school meal (FSM) threshold, after the charity’s research revealed the extent of school dinner debt incurred by schools.
On average, primary schools in England and special schools had around £1,000 of dinner money debt at the end of the academic year 2023-24.
“From registering pupils for FSM, to monitoring lunchtime payments and managing debt by calling families or moving children onto packed lunches, the system requires extensive coordination from school staff,” the report warned.
The report found that dinner money debt particularly affects pupils just outside of FSM eligibility, with the charity previously estimating that a third of school-age children who live in poverty are ineligible for FSM.
CPAG’s research is based on survey responses from 176 primary and special school business managers across England.
The charity called for the government to move towards removing means-testing from school lunchtime altogether.
The research comes after the majority of parents and carers want the government to extend FSM to all children in primary state schools in England.
Children in primary schools are often still given lunches even if there is no credit on their lunch account, the report found, which is how dinner money debt is incurred.
It added these payments can be hard for some families to keep up with, which can lead to debt growing over time.
School meal debt ‘knock-on effect’ on school budgets
Overall, debt has risen by around 50 per cent over the past two academic years, with schools reporting debt ranging from £3 to £22,000.
Around four in ten schools (39 per cent) saw an increase in debt, while 49 per cent saw no change over this period. A small number of schools (12 per cent) saw a decrease in debt.
The majority of schools (71 per cent) agree that the build-up of school meal debt has a “knock-on effect on school budgets”.
Schools reported that while school budgets are already tight, outstanding school meal payments are adding to strains - with more than a quarter of schools (28 per cent) reporting they wipe debt for some families.
An additional three-quarters (73 per cent) of schools reported that school meal debt puts a strain on relationships with parents.
“Families often feel embarrassed or defensive when speaking about this issue and sometimes avoid phone calls from the school when debt is outstanding,” schools shared in the report.
Many schools (70 per cent) also carry debt over to the new academic year so tensions with families are often ongoing.
Money from government-funded schemes ‘not enough’
The concerns come after Tes revealed the increasingly difficult relationships between families and schools, shown specifically through a rising number of complaints.
Schools use different approaches to manage school meal debt, which include providing different meal options or alternative lunchtime arrangements for those with outstanding debt (9 per cent of schools) and encouraging families to move to packed lunches (45 per cent of schools).
However, this can mean children have a “tough time in the dining hall”, schools fear, with staff reporting that children feel embarrassed or upset if they don’t have a packed lunch or have to have an “alternative lunch”.
Increases in school meal debt are likely driven by a combination of more families being indebted than before (33 per cent of schools said more families are affected by dinner money debt than in previous years) and the average level of debt per household increasing, CPAG said.
Some schools feel that the money they receive for government-funded schemes such as universal infant free school meals is not enough, while trying to balance avoiding passing on rising costs to families who are paying for school meals.
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