The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2026 issue - Magazine - Page 68
Huge boost
for families:
school leaders
join more than
100 organisations
in welcoming
expansion of
free school meals
As children return to school across England,
all children in households receiving
Universal Credit will become eligible for
free school meals from 1 September.
The change is the biggest expansion of
free school meal eligibility in more than a
decade, since Universal Infant Free School
Meals were introduced in 2014. It will give
hundreds of thousands more children
access to a nutritious meal during the
school day, while saving families around
£500 per child each year.
In a statement coordinated by the School
Food Review, over 100 organisations have
welcomed the change. Signatories include
school leaders' and teaching bodies ASCL,
NAHT and the NEU; children’s, food and
anti-poverty organisations, including
School Food Matters, Child Poverty Action
Group, Sustain, Bite Back, Chefs in Schools,
The Food Foundation and The Children’s
Society; plus a wide range of health,
community support and academic
institutions.
The statement says:
“Today many thousands more children
across England will be fuelled for learning
thanks to a free school meal. As organisations working in schools and with children,
we know this is a huge boost for children
and families.”
“We commend the government on this
substantive change that will be felt in
classrooms and households across England,
igniting children's learning and giving
parents welcome breathing space, saving
them around £500 per year.”
“Today marks an important commitment
to children. Government must continue
to build on this by doing more to create a
great school food system and taking steps
to tackle child poverty.”
Kwasi, 16, a Bite Back member, says in the
film:
“I feel like when you have a healthy meal in
front of you, it just gives you that confidence
that you can get through the day.”
Stephanie Slater MBE, Founder and Chief
Executive of School Food Matters, says:
"This is an important moment for children
and families across England. Free school
meals can take pressure off household
budgets and ensure children are well
nourished and ready to learn. We now
eagerly await the publication of the new
school food standards and a framework
for monitoring so that every school meal is
delicious and nutritious.”
New research from Child Poverty Action
Group also reveals how families newly
eligible for free school meals anticipate
what the policy change will mean for them.
Sixty per cent of parents polled said their
new eligibility for free school meals would
help their children’s health, while the same
proportion said it would help with
household debts. Seventy per cent said
having to pay for packed lunch or school
meals in the previous academic year had
meant worrying that they could not afford
other things for children like school trips or
clubs.
Paul Whiteman, General Secretary at school
leaders' union NAHT, says:
"The expansion of free school meals is a
hugely welcome step as children return
to the classroom this term. School leaders
see first-hand the impact hunger can have
on children's wellbeing, concentration and
ability to learn. Extending eligibility to more
families will make a real difference, helping
to ensure thousands more children are
properly fuelled for learning while
providing support for more households
facing ongoing cost pressures."
To further celebrate the expansion of school
meals, the School Food Review also invited
young people, parents, teachers and chefs
to share what school meals mean for them
personally in a new short film: Why Free
School Meals Matter.
Dan, parent of one child and a Food
Foundation ambassador, says in the film:
“Free hot school meals give children the
nutrition they need and ensure families on
Universal Credit aren’t forced to choose
between food and other essentials.”
The School Food Review says the expansion
is an important commitment to children
and should be followed by further action
to improve school food and tackle child
poverty.
Florine, parent of two children says:
“My vision for school meals is as a
national asset. Universal free meals in
primary through secondary schools.
Everyone deserves a healthy, delicious
school meal!”
