Free school meals trial feeds 20,000 more children in England
The pilot scheme in England has helped more children access free school meals through automatic enrolment.
A new initiative aimed at tackling child food poverty has seen 20,000 additional children in England benefit from free school meals, thanks to a pioneering trial.
The project, spearheaded by the Fix Our Food research initiative in collaboration with local councils, has focused on automatically enrolling eligible children who had previously missed out, ensuring no child goes hungry due to complex paperwork or registration issues.
In a significant move to combat child poverty, the pilot scheme, which launched in October 2024, has been instrumental in feeding thousands of children who were previously overlooked. By targeting families who qualify for free school meals but haven’t registered, the programme aims to remove bureaucratic barriers and guarantee that children receive the meals they’re entitled to.
This trial aims to address long-standing issues preventing families from signing up for free school meals, such as language difficulties, confusion about eligibility, and the stigma around disclosing financial details. Currently, around 2.1 million children—roughly 24.6% of students in England—are enrolled in the scheme. Yet, estimates suggest up to 470,000 eligible children have not been registered.
Researchers from Fix Our Food are advocating for a nationwide rollout of automatic enrolment, allowing families to opt out rather than opt in, a move that could save families around £500 a year in lunch costs. So far, the trial has been implemented in 20 local authorities, including County Durham, which saw 1,700 new registrations, and Wakefield, which enrolled 1,200 more children.
The influx of registrations has brought millions in vital additional funding to schools via pupil premium grants.
However, the process has its challenges. Councils face an administrative burden, requiring extensive data analysis to determine which families are eligible. Fix Our Food is urging the government to streamline the process by integrating data from different departments.
The success of the free school meals trial has highlighted the importance of ensuring that disadvantaged children receive vital nutrition. While the government has expressed interest in exploring long-term solutions to child poverty, it has yet to commit to a nationwide expansion of the scheme. Nonetheless, a separate initiative to provide free breakfast clubs at 750 primary schools will launch in April 2025.
As policymakers and educators continue to explore ways to tackle food insecurity, the trial’s success underscores the need for ongoing innovation and support to ensure that no child is left behind.
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Ruairidh is the Digital Lead on MadeForMums. He works with a team of fantastically talented content creators and subject-matter experts on MadeForMums.
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