
Analysis of government data this week by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) estimates that as many as 900,000 children who are living in poverty do not qualify for FSMs due to the restrictive criteria.
FSMs are universal for children in reception and years 1 and 2, but are means-tested from year 3. For a family on Universal Credit to qualify, their combined household income must be £7,400 or less excluding benefit payments.
Increasingly, however, local areas are introducing universal FSMs to some degree. This includes Southwark, Newham, Islington, Westminster and Tower Hamlets in London, which all offer universal FSMs for primary children, with Tower Hamlets recently announcing the roll-out of universal FSMs, in secondary schools.
And the London mayor rolled out a programme in 2023 funding FSM entitlement for all primary pupils in London.
Outside of the capital, York Council has announced a pilot scheme offering universal FSMs, while both the Welsh and Scottish governments are rolling out universal FSMs to all children in primary school.
Campaigners are calling on political parties to make universal FSMs a “priority pledge” in their election manifestos, including the National Association of Head Teachers which this week labelled it "appalling" that the "very low" rate has not been increased in line with inflation for six years.
The CPAG says that FSMs not only offer a “financial lifeline” for families, but also bring a range of wider benefits. A joint CPAG and National Education Union study last year (2023) found six core benefits to universal FSMs, including better home-school relationships, reduced stigma in the canteen, better eating habits for children, and a positive impact on engagement and learning outcomes.
This week’s CPAG analysis is based on recent pupil data published by the Department for Education (DfE, 2024). They show that there are 9,092,073 pupils being educated in 24,453 state and independent schools in England – up by 18,200 year-on-year.
Of this number, 24.6% of pupils are eligible for FSMs, representing around 2.1 million children and young people. This figure has increased by around 75,000 since 2022.
The highest eligibility rates for FSMs are in the North East (31.2%) and West Midlands (28.9%), compared to the lowest levels found in the South East (19.7%) and East of England (20.1%).
The DfE’s data also shows that 1.6 million infant pupils received FSM under the universal infants FSM policy – of which 1.3 million would not normally be eligible for FSMs.
Official figures state that 4.2 million children are now living in relative poverty (household income below 60% of the median after housing costs). This is 29% of all UK children. Of these, 2.7 million are living in “deep poverty” – families below 50% of the median income. Furthermore, 21% of children who live in relative poverty are now also living in food insecure households (DWP, 2023).
A study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies last year warned that despite 30% of families on Universal Credit being considered “food insecure”, 69% of families on Universal Credit are not eligible for FSMs (Cribb et al, 2023).
The CPAG’s 900,000 figure does not include children who are receiving universal infant FSMs in reception, year 1 and 2 nor those receiving meals under local schemes like those in London.
Earlier this year, SecEd reported that 1 in 5 schools are now running a food bank, equating to around 4,250 across England. This compares to around 2,800 community food banks being operated by charities like the Trussell Trust. The report from the University of Bristol (Baker et al, 2024) also reveals that school-based food banks are being established disproportionately in areas of deprivation.
Speaking this week, CPAG’s head of education policy Kate Anstey said: “Classrooms across England are full of children who are hungry or worrying about food. And lunch halls can be a place of stigma for kids who do get a free school meal. Ensuring every child has a free lunch at school is essential to support wellbeing, learning and inclusion. All political parties should fulfil their responsibility to protect children by committing now to universal FSMs.”
School leaders this week echoed the calls and also urged the next government to consider auto-enrolment of families into FSMs, which would unlock Pupil Premium funding for their children.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We know that there are hundreds of thousands of children who are living in poverty but are not currently eligible, as well as significant numbers of pupils who are eligible but are not currently making use of the scheme.
“All families in receipt of Universal Credit should have access to FSMs and there needs to be a system of auto-enrolment to ensure that no child is going hungry at school.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, added: “The very low income cap of £7,400 for FSMs means some children living in poverty are missing out, and it is appalling that this cap has not been increased with inflation since it was introduced six years ago.
“Hunger makes it harder for children to concentrate on school work, and also harms their health and wellbeing, and we urge the next government to extend FSMs to all pupils in households in receipt of Universal Credit.
“We also want children who are eligible for free school meals to be automatically registered as this unlocks crucial Pupil Premium funding.”
- Baker, Knight & Leckie: Feeding hungry families: Food banks in schools in England, Bristol Working Papers In Education Series, University of Bristol, 2024: bristol.ac.uk/education/research/research-projects/bristol-working-papers-in-education
- CPAG & NEU: The Universalism Multiplier: The impact of universal free school meal entitlement on families, schools and children, 2023:https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-12/Universalism_multiplier.pdf
- Cribb et al: The policy menu for school lunches: options and trade-offs in expanding free school meals in England, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2023: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/policy-menu-school-lunches-options-and-trade-offs-expanding-free-school-meals-england
- DfE: School pupils and their characteristics, 2024: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24
- DWP: National statistics: Households Below Average Income: An analysis of the UK income distribution, 2023: https://buff.ly/4c0Ux4P