The new report was created by Greta Defeyter, dean of social mobility at Northumbria University; Professor Paul Stretesky, director of learning and teaching, school of social and political science at University of Lincoln and John Paul Wright, chief executive of Alliance 4 Children UK.
The report points out free school meals funding in England is relatively low at £2.61 when compared to Scotland (£3.30) and Wales (£3.20). The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that if free school meals funding had increased with inflation, school meals would now be funded at a minimum of £3.18 per meal.
Michael Hales, chair of LACA, commented: “LACA welcomes the report from Professor Greata Defeyter and its focus on the need for increased funding to support the expansion of free school meals for all children whose parents are on universal credit.
“If this expansion is to succeed, it cannot place further strain on already stretched school budgets. While we welcome the Government’s commitment to extending free school meals to the most vulnerable children, this policy can only work if it is properly funded. That’s is why we are calling for at least £3.45 per meal, index-linked.”
The report made five recommendations, including:
- Increase UK Government funding per free school meal to enable all caterers to offer a healthy, nutritious meal that complies to school food standards, using locally sourced food where/when possible.
- Stop schools from having to take money from their teaching and learning budgets to breach the deficit between DfE funding and costs charged by school caterers.
- Explore funding models and mechanisms that are more socially just to all school caterers and schools regardless of size and geographic location.
- Increase funding, aligned to school meal funding in the devolved nations, to enable effective implementation and delivery of the current, and forthcoming revised school food standards.
- Provide flexibility in the delivery of food to SEND pupils and cost appropriately.