free school meals | Schools Week

Coronavirus: DfE confirms plans for £15-a-week free school meal vouchers

Six national supermarket chains have signed up to the government’s new national voucher scheme for free school meals. However the government has confirmed that vouchers will not be available during the Easter holidays – despite many schools staying open. The Department for Education has today confirmed plans, as revealed by Schools Week, to issue £15 […]

Coronavirus: FSM vouchers to provide ‘£3 per meal’, as caterers criticised for ‘shameful’ hampers

Pupils are set to get weekly supermarket vouchers totalling £15 to replace their free school meal entitlements under a new national scheme, Schools Week understands. But heads have been told the scheme won’t be rolled out until next week. The voucher payments work out at £3 per day – an increase of 70p on the […]

Coronavirus: How schools are stepping up to keep disadvantaged pupils fed

At a time of uncertainty and lack of clarity from the top, many school leaders have been sharing ideas on how to keep disadvantaged pupils fed, ahead of today’s coronavirus school shutdown. Schools this week took the lead to ensure poorer pupils are provided with free school meals, with staff providing food hampers and buying […]

Coronavirus: Issue food parcels or supermarket vouchers to free school meals pupils, DfE tells schools

Schools should work with catering providers or local authorities to provide food parcels or send out supermarket vouchers to pupils eligible for free school meals who are affected by coronavirus. The Department for Education has sent out new guidance for schools this morning on how to support pupils eligible for means-tested meals who are either […]

DfE eyes universal infant free school meals in cuts drive

The government’s universal infant free school meals programme is one of a number being considered for the axe in this year’s spending review, Schools Week has learned. Universal infant free school meals prioritise support based on age rather than need Multiple sources familiar with the process said the policy, which costs the government more than […]

Are police officers in schools a force for good?

Hundreds of police officers are now based in schools but we don’t know enough about the work they do, or the impact their presence has on pupils, insists Dr Amanda Henshall The presence of officers in schools is part of a massive package of surveillance measures, including more CCTV in schools, that make children and […]

Give schools more money for free meals, say caterers

The government is under pressure to increase the money it gives schools to pay for free meals for infant pupils. The Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA), which represents school catering companies, has urged ministers to increase the amount of cash available to feed children. At present, primary schools get £2.30 per meal for […]

One in three reception children aren’t ‘school ready’, warns Teach First

Nearly one in three children who start primary school in England at the age of five are not “school ready”, according to new analysis by Teach First. The education charity looked at the number of new reception pupils who fail to meet the level of social and emotional development, knowledge and skills needed to provide the foundation for good progress through […]

REVEALED: The schools where the poorest pupils make most progress

The poorest pupils have made more progress than their better-off peers at just three per cent of secondary schools, new analysis shows. About 100 schools posted a positive Progress 8 score for their pupils on free school meals, or who were on free school meals at some point in the last six year, which beat […]