Free school meals

Free school meals data now ‘less useful for research’, warns EPI

Make-up of children who receive free lunches becoming 'more diverse and uncertain' as a result of government policies and demographic changes

Make-up of children who receive free lunches becoming 'more diverse and uncertain' as a result of government policies and demographic changes

Government policy decisions and changes in the make-up of those claiming free school meals has made data on such pupils “less useful for research”, meaning support is targeted “less efficiently” than it should be, the Education Policy Institute has warned.

Eligibility for free school meals and the pupil premium, paid to schools for any child eligible for meals at any time in the last six years, are frequently used by policymakers and researchers as a proxy for disadvantage.

But the think tank said in a new report that the makeup of children who receive free school meals is becoming “more diverse and uncertain”, while at the same time the system excludes many children who live in poverty.

Protections introduced by the Department for Education following the roll-out of universal credit meant children newly out of scope did not lose their eligibility until the end of their current phase of education.

But the EPI said this meant “some children are in the group because of protections… while contemporary peers whose families have a similarly low income are not.

“Not knowing the basis on which children are included and flagged as FSM-eligible means the data on these pupils are less useful for research, and that policy is targeted less efficiently than is optimal.”

‘Time to review and improve data uses’

Dr Tammy Campbell, director for early years, inequalities and wellbeing at the EPI said: “Free school meals has long been used as a key measure for multiple purposes within research and policymaking.

“Now it is time to review and improve its uses, and to look at alternatives, to better support economically disadvantaged children within the education system.”

The EPI found that across all years, fewer children are registered for free school meals than estimated in poverty, due to low family income thresholds at £7,400 per year. 

This is “partly by design”, because the £7,400 annual family income threshold for registration “is so low”.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said the eligibility threshold for free school meals is a “disgrace”.

“Children and schools are missing out on crucial support because of out-of-touch bureaucracy blocking children’s access to food. 

“A household income over £7,400 per year (before benefits) means a child is too well off to qualify. Worse still, the report shows how even those who meet the criteria are still not getting their entitlement.

“This has knock-on effects as schools lose out on vital pupil premium funding to support their most vulnerable children.”

Expand FSM eligibility and auto-enrol

The EPI also found gaps between poverty rates and free school meals eligibility vary by ethnicity.

“Among children recorded as Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Indian ethnicities, estimated poverty rates are far higher than the percentage of children registered for FSM, and, to a lesser but still large extent, for PP.”

This is in part because poverty estimates “equivalise for family size, while FSM-eligibility does not”.

The EPI said the government should “expand the coverage of FSM eligibility” by increasing the salary threshold for families, and “provide sufficient funding”.

Government should also “consider ethnicity and language background alongside FSM and PP, for example when comparing the experiences and outcomes of FSM/PP children to their peers”.

And the DfE should also “consider centrally automatically enrolling eligible children for FSM to ensure better coverage”.

Auto-enrolment was also recommended by the education select committee last week.

More councils auto-enrol pupils for FSM

Sureena Brackenbridge, a Labour member of the committee, said she would welcome free school meals for all pupils, but accepted public finances are “tight”.

“Other pressing issues also demand funding, such as the dire state of special educational needs and disabilities provision after 14 years of neglect. A responsible government must prioritise.

“That said, we can still improve the free school meal system without universalising it.”

Auto-enrolment is also being introduced by individual councils and groups of local authorities.

A scheme run by the University of York last year saw 20 councils switch to an opt-out approach, resulting in around 20,000 unregistered children being signed up for free meals.

Another 40 councils are now exploring the possibility of implementing similar schemes, the Guardian reported.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “All eligible children should be automatically enrolled so that no child misses out, and that schools should be paid a higher rate of pupil premium to support children who are in persistent poverty.” 

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