The government’s announcement today that the free school meals entitlement will be extended significantly will likely be welcomed across the sector.

After all, £7,400 is not an awful lot of money for a household income for a whole year - and yet for years that has been the threshold for eligibility.

Many families in the communities that I serve have missed out on eligibility in the past because they earned just over the threshold but still required benefits to make ends meet.

A game changer for thousands 

As such, to extend free school meals to all households earning above £7,400 a year but also receiving universal credit is a real game changer - most importantly for the children.

We know that learning in a classroom without the gnawing pangs of hunger improves educational outcomes as well as health and wellbeing. A decent breakfast every morning is essential - and that is being introduced - but lunch is critical too.

There are very few teachers who won’t confirm that afternoon lessons can be a little tricky: tired and hungry children losing focus and getting grumpy.

I’ve seen too many students go into GCSE and A-level exams on empty tummies or perhaps a few sugary snacks from the corner shop; they do not obtain the same outcomes as those firing on all cylinders.

It is clear, too, that this change will have a real impact on thousands of pupils.

Our first calculations indicate that the 7,000 children currently eligible for free school meals in my local constituency of Tipton and Wednesbury alone will swell to around 9,000. That will lift a significant number of children out of poverty - exactly what the incoming government promised a year ago.

More to do

But there is still more that could be done to ensure this is the first step in improving how FSM is operated.

Labour MP Peter Lamb introduced a private members’ bill in March calling for the automatic registration of eligible children for free school meals, removing a somewhat tricky and time-consuming process that some parents struggle to navigate.

We know there are many eligible families who simply haven’t registered - sometimes because they find it a challenge to do so, as well as worrying about the social stigma of claiming.

Misplaced but understandable parental pride and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape leave many children hungry.

Registering for free school meals automatically means that the schools those children attend receive the pupil premium grant.

This is additional funding for schools to close many of the gaps that young people from under-resourced backgrounds face. For those of us with significant numbers of vulnerable children needing additional support, it is a lifeline.

Holiday provision

The money is there; it is in the Budget already. It would make it simpler to draw down those allocated funds to those who need it. Frankly, it’s common sense.

Through the automatic enrolment of not just those children entitled to free school meals at the moment, but those who will be eligible from September 2026 onwards due to this new policy, there would be considerably more resources for the children and schools most in need.

We know private members’ bills do not always make it into law, but I would urge MPs to back this one - it will definitely lift thousands of children out of poverty.

What’s more, for many of these pupils there will still be no provision during the 13 weeks of holidays when they are not in school.

For significant numbers of families, lunch vouchers during school holidays were essential financial support during the pandemic. Although they were intended to be temporary, the withdrawal of these has exacerbated childhood hunger and poverty. The reintroduction of these for those most in need is urgent.

Overall, though, let us welcome a positive policy development that should be of benefit to thousands of pupils and their families nationwide.

Keziah Featherstone is executive headteacher in The Mercian Trust. She is also co-founder and vice-chair of WomenEd, and co-chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable. Her first solo book, Punk Leadership, has recently been published by Corwin

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