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The Independent
11-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Free school meal plan requires key change to stop children ‘missing out', Labour told
The government has been urged to make a key change to its plans to expand free schools meals to all pupils in England on universal credit. The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has said ministers must go further and introduce a national auto-enrolment system for free school meals, in order to reduce inequality. The group found distinct variations in free school meal registration practices across England. Their report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, calls for a national auto-enrolment scheme to ensure all eligible families are registered. The call comes after ministers announced its plans to expand free school meals last week. Currently, households in England on universal credit must earn below £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals. The expansion, set to be implemented in September 2026, is expected to make 500,000 more children eligible for free lunches, according to the Government. Parents currently have to apply for their children to receive free school meals, rather than eligible children being automatically enrolled. The report said: 'Despite this expansion in FSM (free school meals) eligibility, without further action from the Government, children may continue to miss out on the free meals they are entitled to. 'The barriers to registration and differences in registration practices across LAs means children still face inequalities in access to free meals.' Authors added: 'In terms of barriers families face in applying to FSM – including English as an additional language, stigma, confusion about eligibility – auto-enrolment would largely eradicate these issues.' Despite efforts to boost registration, language barriers and a lack of digital access are preventing the meals reaching children that need them, it said. An additional 77,700 children became eligible for free school meals in the past year, according to recent data published by the Department for Education. More than one in four (25.7%) pupils in England were eligible for free school meals in January, the equivalent of 2.17 million children – up from 24.6%, or 2.09 million, in January 2024. But the report from EPI – which is based on surveys and interviews with local authorities and multi-academy trusts in 2024 and early 2025 – found where a child lives or goes to school determines how hard it is for families to register for free school meals. In some local authorities, parents are required to make their own application while facing significant barriers and if found ineligible at the time must reapply when circumstances change. While in others, they use local auto-enrolment to proactively identify entitled children without relying on parents sharing details or making an application. The report also found that some children who attend maintained nurseries before and after lunch are missing out on free meals to which they are entitled. Dr Kerris Cooper, senior researcher for early years and inequalities at EPI, said: 'Our research shows that while the extension of free school meal eligibility is a very positive step, more needs to be done to ensure that all children entitled to free meals can actually access them. 'First, there are still significant barriers for families to register for FSM, and where a child lives plays too big a role in their chances of being registered. 'Second, the youngest children, who face the highest risk of poverty, will not benefit from this expansion in eligibility unless all children attending early education are also included and settings are supported to deliver this. 'Introducing national auto-enrolment and including children in early education would enable this expansion in FSM eligibility to more meaningfully extend access to more children in poverty.' Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The expansion of free school meals, to include all children in households on universal credit, is a positive move that recognises there are children living in poverty who have been missing out. 'Moving to a national system of auto-enrolment would be the next logical step to ensure that everyone who is now eligible under the new criteria will actually receive a meal and the intended benefits.' He added: 'We see no reason why a national system of auto-enrolment cannot be established relatively straightforwardly. 'This is something that would make a big difference to vulnerable families.' Last week, education minister Stephen Morgan told MPs in the Commons that the Government would be working to make it easier for people to apply. He said the announcement on expanding free school meals was a 'significant, straightforward process for parents to know whether they are eligible'.
The Guardian
01-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Coherent strategy needed to tackle racism
That so few of the 600 recommendations to tackle racism have been implemented is all the more disappointing given that ways forward are well understood (Only a third of recommendations to tackle endemic racism in UK implemented, 25 May). When the last Labour government established the Equality and Human Rights Commission, it also launched the first national benchmarking survey of prejudice (2005), originally intended for triennial repetition but in fact only repeated once, in 2017. The British Academy's work on cohesive societies and the societal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Belong and the Nuffield Foundation's work on cohesion through the pandemic and the Khan review all concluded that preventing prejudice and building cohesion cannot be done unless we regularly and systematically survey changes in social attitudes and relationships across different places and contexts. The social processes that generate prejudice and discrimination are well understood and require coherent strategies to be addressed. Changing levels of poverty and inequality, social mixing, population ageing and environmental challenges mean manifestations of social fracture and distrust will differ across time and place. Unless there is a systematic approach and investment to address the processes of prejudice, including tracking its forms with sufficient frequency, policymakers will continue with the 'doom loop' of despair, inquiries and recommendations, and insufficient solutions when things go Dominic AbramsUniversity of Kent Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- BBC News
Shorter summer holidays and longer half-term for pupils in Surrey
Would you prefer a longer October half-term in exchange for a shorter summer break? Schools in Surrey will be doing just that from the autumn of 2026 after a survey showed people were in favour of the new means that pupils and teachers will have a two week long half-term in October next year and their summer holiday will be shortened by five days. Overall there will still be the same number of school days in the year. Do you think this is a good idea? Would you like it at your school? Let us know in the comments. Why is Surrey council changing school holidays? Schools in Surrey were asked if they were in favour of a two week autumn half-term in a survey. 60% of schools said yes, 30% were against a new system and 10% were unsure. Clare Curran from Surrey County Council said the survey was in response to a wider discussion about term dates. She added that the decision was based on "the feedback received by the council from schools, school staff, and families regarding the challenges of differing term dates". Are other places changing their schools holidays too? Surrey isn't the only place in the UK reviewing the length of school holidays, with some areas like Suffolk and the Isle of Wight already implementing a two week October Welsh government looked at shortening their summer holidays too but has since shelved the plans after opposition to the idea. The discussion comes after a report from last year by the Nuffield Foundation suggested summer holidays should be cut down from six weeks to four and half, with terms made longer to improve the wellbeing of both teaching staff and pupils. That's something schools part of the Unity Schools Partnership in Suffolk found after introducing the longer autumn break. Pupil absences for illness after the holiday fell by 25% at 31 of its primary and secondary schools. What do you think? Would you give up a longer summer break in favour of a two week holiday in October? Let us know in the comments.
