Funding for universal infant free school meals will rise by just 1.2 per cent next year, despite predictions food costs and wages will increase by far more.
The Department for Education told schools today that the rate per meal would increase by 3p next academic year, from £2.58 to £2.61.
The rate rose by 5p last year and 12p in 2023.
Schools already face huge budget pressures, with unfunded pay teacher and support staff pay rises coming down the track.
Today’s announcement is likely to make matters worse.
Food prices rose by 3.3 per cent in the year to February and could reach 5 per cent by the end of the year. At the same time, the national living wage has increased by at least 6.7 per cent, and national insurance contributions by 9 per cent.
Free school meal funding has also failed to keep pace with inflation: in 2023 the Institute for Fiscal Studies found it had lost 16 per cent of its value in real terms since 2014.
It comes after Schools Week revealed how hard-pressed schools were warning of extra pressures from the rising cost of outsourced contracts as companies grapple with national insurance hikes, minimum wages and food costs.
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