Teachers have reported that children who do not qualify for free school meals (FSM) are attending school with mouldy bread, empty wraps or no food at all, highlighting the extent of hunger in classrooms. The issue comes to light as the Liberal Democrats estimate over 100,000 children in England may miss out on FSM, even though the costs have risen. Schools state they are coming across desperate students who only bring in meagre lunches including a cup of plain leftover rice, a small tub of dry cereal or a lone chocolate bar. Munira Wilson, the education spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, claims that the government has surreptitiously taken away school lunches from children. Sarah Livesey, the headteacher at Oasis Academy Leesbrook, stressed that she has never faced such a challenging situation when it comes to feeding children. Families new to the country or who are on Universal Credit struggle to meet the criteria for FSM, and parents often sacrifice their own meals for their children’s lunches. Some children who arrive without food can make use of the free, unlimited breakfasts that are available in some schools. Celebrities such as Marcus Rashford, Jamie Oliver and Zayn Malik are campaigning for wider access to free school meals. The Scottish and Welsh governments have already committed to providing free school meals to all primary school pupils. The income ceiling for FSM eligibility in England has remained steady for some years now at £7,400. According to the Liberal Democrats, the latest figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions reveal that 1.07 million children are under this threshold. This number would be 1.18 million if income ceilings had increased along with inflation. A Department for Education spokesperson acknowledged the pressures that families are under, stating that England is set to invest up to £24 million in a national school breakfast programme targeting disadvantaged areas. Parents are also struggling to keep school uniforms clean, with some students attending school with damp clothing due to poor drying facilities at home. In an attempt to help, some schools offer washing machines for parents to use and organise coffee mornings along with English language and cooking classes to support families.
Beever primary school’s headteacher, Greg Oates, expressed concern regarding the growing food poverty problem in his school. Majority of the school’s students are eligible for free school meals and some fail to qualify by only a small margin. A number of students, according to Oates, comes to school with no breakfast while some packed lunches are lacking. The school has even encountered moldy bread on some occasions, which they replaced with school dinners, although it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility to provide their child with adequate meals. Oates hopes that all students can access the school dinners, which he believes needs more funding to improve the quality. As school lunch prices have increased to £2.70, the school has become proactive in preventing parents from accruing debts.
Oates also observed how badly the public services and children centers have suffered over time. As a result, schools have become the “focal point” of their respective communities, handling matters that are beyond its intended purpose as a place of learning.
Stephen Morgan, the shadow schools minister, believes that the government has abandoned families, and pledged that a Labor administration would provide free school breakfasts for primary school pupils. Meanwhile, Amanda Chadderton, the leader of Oldham council, acknowledges the crisis level of food poverty in the area, and emphasizes the importance of school meals, as it is often the only opportunity for children to have a hot meal in a day. However, she calls for more support from the government to prevent more families from ending up below the poverty line.
