FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES IN THE UK – IS THIS A BETTER MODEL?

Free school meals have a lengthy history in the UK. The Education Act in 1906 allowed councils to provide food to pupils, but they rarely did. Only in 1944 was it legislated that they must give good quality, free meals to children. This was shortly followed by a similar ruling for free milk in 1946.

The Conservative government, under Margaret Thatcher, ended the free milk provided for all children. Her government also retracted nutrition requirements for school lunches. It triggered a downturn in the quality of food children from worse-off backgrounds had access to. Finally in 2001, school meals were once again held to national nutritional standards.

As the cost-of-living crisis pushes thousands into poverty, the UK’s free school lunch scheme is crucial in the fight to stop children going hungry.

Campaigners have repeatedly urged the government to expand the school meals scheme to make sure that every child is guaranteed a hot and nutritious meal five days a week.

There are around 800,000 children living in poverty who are not eligible for free school meals. So, in 2022, charities launched a fresh campaign backed by celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Tom Kerridge urging the government to make sure every child in a family receiving universal credit (a type of benefit that helps with living costs) gets access to free school meals.

Who gets free school meals in the UK?

Whether a child is eligible for free school meals depends on their age, where the family lives and the parents’ income. A child may be eligible for free school meals if they or their guardian are claiming one or more of several government benefits.

Many of the youngest children in the UK are also eligible for free meals regardless of their parents’ income. In England, all children in reception (new entrants), year one and year two are guaranteed a free lunch (and sometimes milk) as part of the universal infant free school meals scheme.

In Scotland, children at local council schools can get free school lunches during term-time in primary one to five.

The Welsh government has announced that all children in primary school will receive free school meals by 2024 – currently, the majority of local councils are offering meals to every child in reception. The aim is that every child in reception, year one and year two will be given meals by April 2023.

How many children get free school meals?

Just under 1.9 million children are eligible for free school meals in England, according to the latest government figures. This is 22.5 percent of state school pupils.

How much do free school meals cost?

Recent research has found free school meals could actually generate billions for the UK economy.

Commissioned by the Impact for Urban Health and analysed by PwC, the analysis found for every £1 invested in providing free school meals to all children in households on universal credit, £1.38 would be returned over the next 20 years through “core benefits” across social, health and educational areas.

This would result in £8.9billion for the economy in core benefits, helping with savings in schools, increased lifetime earnings and contributions, increased savings on food costs for families and savings for the NHS.

A further £16.3bn of indirect benefits could come through wider economic and supply chain gains, such as growing the school food economy through expansion of school catering employment opportunities, resulting in £25.2bn total potential benefits.

How do families apply for free school meals?

In most areas people can apply through their local authority’s website and can find out more about how to apply if they live in England through the government’s website. There’s a different process to apply depending on where you live.

Since 2014, every child in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state-funded schools has been entitled to a free school lunch, regardless of their economic situation.

School governing bodies must provide school meals to a pupil free of charge if the pupil and/or a parent meets eligibility criteria set out within s.512ZB of the Education Act 1996 and a request is received for free meals to be provided either by the pupil or someone acting on their behalf.

The government encourages all schools to promote healthy eating and provide healthy, tasty, and nutritious food and drink. Compliance with the requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 is mandatory for all maintained schools including academies and free schools. These school food standards are to ensure that food provided to pupils in school is nutritious and of high quality; to promote good nutritional health in all pupils; protect those who are nutritionally vulnerable and to promote good eating behaviour.

The Differences Between UK and NZ

Here, schools apply to be a part of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme and can choose to either create the school lunches in-house or use a tendered supplier.

The difference in the UK is that it’s the parents/guardians or the children themselves who sign up to the government programme, then, regardless of what (state-run) school they go to, they have access to a free school meal.

This means there is less food waste as each school knows the exact number of children in the programme. School governing bodies can decide the form that school lunches take but must ensure that the lunches and other food and drink provided meets the school food standards.

Facilities to eat the food that they bring to school must be provided free of charge for pupils not taking school meals. As a minimum these facilities should include accommodation, furniture, and supervision so that pupils can eat food they have brought from home in a safe and social environment.

Four- to 6-year-old children in state-funded infant, primary and special schools throughout England are eligible to receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day outside of their school lunch through the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) administered by the Department of Health. There is no statutory requirement for schools to participate in this scheme.

Governing bodies are strongly encouraged to work with the senior leadership team to develop a whole school food policy, including:

• setting out the school’s approach to its provision of food

• food education (including practical cooking)

• the role of the catering team as part of the wider school team

• the school’s strategy to increase the take-up of school lunches H