Free School Meals eligibility expanded

The government has announced that all children from households eligible for universal credit will be offered free school meals.

The Department for Education estimates over 500,000 more pupils will be eligible for free school meals under the expansion and claims it will lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

At present, only families with a household income below £7,400 can claim free school meals. Pupil premium is paid to schools for every pupil who has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the previous six years.

Education charities and unions have called for an extension of the scheme, as at present even some children in poverty lose out. It is hoped that the majority of schools will allow parents to apply before the start of the school year 2026, by providing their national insurance number to check their eligibility.

However, schools will not receive additional pupil premium funding for the children who become eligible for free lunches as part of the expansion which will come into force from 2026.

The Department for Education added “current level of pupil premium and related school funding will be maintained and no-one will lose pupil premium eligibility next year, while we look over the long term at how we allocate it in a better targeted way”.

School food campaigner Andy Jolley said the extension was a “really positive move by [education secretary] Bridget Philipson that will help many families out of poverty.” But he warned it was a missed opportunity to introduce auto-enrolment. Here in Devon the County Council are developing auto-enrolment for pupils in the county to ensure that all the pupils who are eligible for FSMs actually get them.