The numbers behind London’s free school lunch scheme

Receive free UK school updates

Primary school pupils across London returned to class this week with a pledge of free school meals for a year.

Citing rising costs of living and national government inaction, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced in February a year-long initiative to provide free meals to every primary school student in London starting in the autumn.

The mayor’s office said the £135m scheme would save parents more than £440 per child.

The initiative has been hailed by food activists and parents as largely beneficial because of its promise to reduce health inequalities and help students achieve better results in school.

Campaigners said London’s move challenged Westminster to take similar action in other parts of the country.

“It’s not fair that children in schools outside of London don’t get the good nutrition they need to thrive,” said Stephanie Slater, founder and chief executive of School Food Matters, a charity that advocates for healthy food in schools explain. She urged the government to “provide free school meals to all and put children’s health first”.

But the plan is already facing obstacles, accused of being underfunded and rolled out relatively quickly, leaving little time to iron out difficulties.

Which kids will get free meals?

In England, children from families with a household income of less than £7,400 already qualify for free school meals. The government also funds free school meals for all students up to Year 2 (six to seven years old).

But the new initiative in London will extend the service to every primary school-age child in the capital – an extra 287,000 pupils.

Nearly a quarter of UK households with children say they are food insecure, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by the Food Foundation.

Parents in London will at least breathe a sigh of relief at the new scheme. Sharon Graham, a single parent of three, was a teaching assistant at a primary school in Wandsworth for 17 years.

When school meals became too expensive (£13.75 per child per week), she turned to packed lunches – spending between £5 and £8 to provide her son with a week’s worth of lunch during a tight budget week. She and her son in sixth grade are excited about the new program.

“I would definitely let him go straight to the school dinner because it’s zero cost to me,” Graham said. “And he felt more social talking and eating with friends who were also having lunch at school.”

Is it all paid for?

The Mayor’s initiative is to provide £2.65 per meal. That’s higher than the £2.53 provided by the government’s universal free school meals for babies scheme this academic year, but the figure has not kept pace with inflation in the nine years since it started.

Both numbers pale in comparison to what some caterers say it costs to serve a meal.In order to meet the National Food Standards And paying a London living wage, he makes £2.99 per primary school meal.

Five of London’s 32 boroughs (including Newham) already offer free school meals to all primary school pupils, as does the City of London. The cost of a meal per student at London schools ranges from £1.80 to more than £4, according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request by London’s local authorities.

So while London boroughs opted in to the scheme when it launched in May, some councils will still have to provide additional six-figure funding to push the scheme forward.

In Kingston, where more than 6,500 pupils will receive free school meals this academic year, the council has pledged an extra £185,000 and expects that figure to increase in September.

“Solutions will be different for each school but include simplifying menus for all ages, introducing mixed hot and cold meals, changing kitchen layouts and introducing a new queuing system,” Kingston City Council said in a statement.

Schools are also feeling the pinch, as many grapple with falling student numbers, teacher recruitment and a cost-of-living crisis.

A headteacher at a small primary school in London said that while the council had been urging schools to promote the scheme, “it’s really not in the interests of schools, at least not ours, to encourage parents to get involved in the scheme.”

In response to these concerns, the mayor’s office has been hosting webinars with councils, which have their own meal plans, and forming task forces that include teachers to share advice and address concerns.

What is the desired outcome?

Food security campaigners hope the scheme will spur the government to increase funding for free school meals across the country and expand eligibility for the scheme.

Even with existing schemes, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, around 1.7 million pupils in England are considered poor enough to qualify for Universal Credit (the UK’s welfare system), but not to meet the narrower criteria for free school meals.

The scheme now has a year to prove it is delivering tangible aid to Londoners. Myles Bremner said: “While there are very real challenges for schools to implement policy quickly over the summer, if we can capture the cultural and spiritual benefits that this brings to schools, I think it will be Very important.” A former director of the government’s school food programme, he was part of a team assessing the implementation of the scheme and its impact on London families.

Although the program is a one-year pilot, activists are optimistic it will last. “I’d be very surprised if it went away,” Hales said. “It will be a very brave mayor of London – whether it’s Sadiq or someone else – to take it away again.”

As for Graham, she said the plan will provide her son with a more balanced diet, especially as the weather turns colder. “You do feel guilty when my son eats a sandwich in December, but what can you do? At least he’s eating. But now I just think – he’s going to get a hot meal.”

Svlook