‘Children come in hungry every single day’: Schools dipping into their own budgets to feed pupils

At least one million children living in poverty in England miss out on free school meals due to strict eligibility criteria

Schools are using their own budgets to stop children going hungry, with nearly 40 per cent of school leaders saying they provide free school meals to pupils who are not eligible.

A new survey, commissioned by the charity School Food Matters, polled 10,000 teachers in England about the extent of pupil hunger at their schools and the impact it is having on children and their learning. It found that four in 10 (38%) teachers surveyed said pupils in their class were regularly too hungry to learn, with the figure jumping to 63 per cent in the most deprived areas. 

More than a fifth of teachers (22%) said this issue has got worse since the start of the academic year in September 2023.

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The findings come amid growing calls for the government to expand access to free school meals.

Currently, all children at state schools in England are entitled to free school lunches from reception up to Year 2. Pupils in Year 3 to 6 from households in receipt of eligible benefits are also entitled to free lunches under existing government rules.

To be eligible, a child’s family must be in receipt of universal credit and have a total household income of less than £7,400 in a year. This means an estimated one million children living in poverty in England miss out on free school meals.

The government has so far resisted calls from campaigners, charities, health experts and unions to expand the eligibility criteria.

More than one-fifth of teachers said the issue has got worse since the start of the academic year (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

The poll further found the number of schools providing meals to students who are not eligible under current guidelines rises to half (51%) in the poorest areas of the country.

More than half (58%) of senior leaders said demand for this support has increased since September.

A quarter said their school has written off school meals debt this year, and 24% said they had opened a food bank to support struggling families.

The poll also found the issue of child hunger at school varies significantly across the country, with schools in the North West and South West in particular forced to dip into their school budgets to feed pupils ineligible for free school meals.

Terri Cheung, Headteacher at Phoenix Primary School in Liverpool, said: “Our school is in an area of high deprivation, and we have lots of families who struggle financially. Some children come in hungry every single day.

“We also have so many families who aren’t eligible for free school meals because they earn a tiny bit over the £7,400 threshold.

“It doesn’t mean our children go hungry. We definitely make sure that they eat, but it’s coming out of the school budget. The way it’s going now, that’s not going to be sustainable. We get less and less money every year and the bills have gone up.”

In January, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the extension of Universal Free School Meals for state primary school children across the capital. This programme costs the Greater London Authority approximately £130m a year.

School Food Matters is calling on the government to roll out free school meals for all children across the country. 

Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive at School Food Matters, said: “The news that cash-strapped schools across England are dipping into their budgets to feed hungry children is shocking.

“Schools cannot continue to plug gaps in provision with these drastic measures. The government must expand free school meals so that every child has the good nutrition they need to thrive.”