In a new report, the Education Committee, made up of cross-party MPs, calls for the Government to use the Bill to legislate for auto-enrolment of free school meals (FSM) for eligible children. Currently parents whose children are entitled to FSM have to apply for the benefit, but experts told the Committee that because of this 1 in 10 children are missing out because of language barriers or ‘difficulty with the admin process’.
Children aged four to 16 may be entitled to FSM if their parents or carers receive income-related benefits such as Universal Credit. FSM is different to universal infant free school meals, where all children receive free school dinners from Reception to Year 2.
The Committee, which has expressed its disappointment over how the Bill has been ‘rushed’ through the House of Commons, argues failing to legislate for auto-enrolment would be a ‘missed opportunity’ to feed hungry children at school.
Another recommendation of the cross-party MPs to improve the bill is to require schools providing universal free breakfast clubs to take ‘explicit account’ of the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Committee says ‘Common sense’ measures should be taken, for example, to ensure that children with SEND who rely on home-to-school transport should be enable to arrive early enough to join breakfast clubs, and that Government funding should reflect this provision.
Education Committee chair Helen Hayes MP said, ‘The Committee has made recommendations designed to strengthen support for the most vulnerable children in society.
‘While we welcome the Government’s ambition in this Bill, my colleagues and I from across the political parties were disappointed by how the Government has rushed this Bill through the House of Commons at the expense of time for proper scrutiny. With such wide-ranging reforms that will have dramatic, lasting consequences for children and families, the DfE’s need for speed should not have been prioritised over diligent examination of evidence.’
