Latest news with #FreeSchoolMeals
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Free school meals for more children in England is a positive thing, but there's a catch
Good news. Free school meals for all children in England on universal credit is rightly being celebrated by schools, nurseries, further education colleges and children's charities. There may only be 500,000 extra recipients estimated by the government now, but in the long run 1.7 million children will be eligible, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies. 'Fantastic news,' says the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), as 100,000 children will be lifted out of poverty by this annual £500 put back in parents' pockets. Food matters. Hungry children can't learn, and many miss school to avoid the public embarrassment of no dinner money and no packed lunch, according to CPAG's Priced Out of School report. Strong evidence shows a rise in attainment and attendance if you feed children. The Feed the Future campaign finds not just academic achievement but health, happiness, reduced obesity and lifetime earnings improve if children don't go hungry. Surely that can't surprise anyone. The universal breakfast clubs being rolled out now represent real progress. Strict rules stopping schools from demanding absurdly expensive uniforms, sometimes a not-so-subtle way to exclude poorer families, is another part of a developing anti-poverty strategy. But it's complicated. Nothing in poverty numbers is easy. So while celebrating more meals for more children, we should question the total number of children lifted out of poverty. The government says it's 100,000 and the IFS agrees. But look what happens when you factor in the dire effect of the upcoming £5bn disability and Pip cuts. Turn to the government's own paper on the impact. Look at Annex B: 'It is estimated that there will be an additional 250,000 people (including 50,000 children) in relative poverty after housing costs in financial year ending 2030 as a result of the modelled changes to social security.' As those receiving support from sources such as Pip lose their benefit, the family gets poorer. Some may find this offset by the addition of free school meals, but not all will qualify, and many families will still find themselves worse off once what they gain from having free school meals is set against benefit losses. The vote on disability benefit cuts is coming up shortly, with up to 170 Labour MPs reportedly ready to rebel. As the Department for Work and Pensions scurries to amend the proposal in time for the vote, it needs to take into account the danger of sending more children below the poverty threshold. Of the many severe critiques of the government's Pathways to Work plan for these disability cuts, one of the most authoritative is the Citizens Advice response, Pathways to Poverty. It opens: 'By refusing to properly consult on its plan to cut billions from disability benefits, the government is choosing not to ask questions it doesn't want the answers to. The cuts will have a devastating impact on disabled people (and their children), sending hundreds of thousands into poverty, and many more into deeper poverty. This will result from a series of arbitrary reforms that have been designed around savings targets rather than improving outcomes, inflicting hardship on people in ways that the government doesn't yet fully understand.' Few would doubt the need for the government to take action on the growing numbers of working-age people off sick with mental and physical ailments. Good plans to provide work coaches to help, not bully, them back into working life with an array of supports are unfolding. But the dash for cash suddenly and unexpectedly imposed on the DWP at the last moment when the Office for Budget Responsibility found a gap in Reeves's proposed £5bn in savings has thrust more brutal cuts forward, regardless of circumstance. In 1997, New Labour's New Deal to help people into work was a great success: money saved came from finding people jobs, not cutting their benefits in advance, something that was likely to reduce their work capability. The welcome new free school meals policy shines a light on the depths of poverty. How could the appallingly low family income of £7,400 have been the qualifier until now? In Northern Ireland the benchmark is twice as high. Wales and London have universal free meals for primary children; in Scotland, all pupils are eligible for the first five years of primary school. Labour inherited a tax and benefits system that had, since 2010, cut entitlements among families with children by £2,200 a year on average, with those out-of-work losing £5,500 a year, reports the IFS. Reversing that is an uphill task. Many children now getting free meals won't be lifted out of poverty: it would take a lot more than £500 a year. Lifting the two-child cap would cost less than meals, in terms of freeing children from poverty. That estimated £3.5bn to abolish it will have to be found by Liz Kendall and Bridget Phillipson's child poverty taskforce, which will report at budget time in the autumn. There just is no way round it for a government that pledged to take more children out of poverty. Note that they call this free school meals announcement just a 'down payment'. The best had better be yet to come. A final thought: for all the panic about disability claims, total working-age benefits as a proportion of government spending have not risen in the past 20 years. What has happened is cuts for children have been offset by increases for triple-locked pensioners. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Winter fuel U-turn welcomed by Labour MPs in North East
A partial government U-turn on the decision to cut winter fuel payments for some pensioners has been broadly welcomed by Labour MPs in the North has faced significant criticism over the policy, which restricted eligibility to those pensioners who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits, saving the government nearly £1.5 billion. The policy has been singled out as a key reason for the party's poor performance at recent local one MP said the government needed an "urgent re-think" more generally, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the U-turn in the House of Commons on he specified the policy would not be altered until the autumn Budget, adding ministers would only "make decisions we can afford".So far, it remains unclear how many will regain their entitlement, or when exactly the changes will take and Blyth MP Ian Lavery - who abstained from voting for the policy - called on the government to "urgently re-think, not only its position on this, but its entire direction of travel". "Last year, the public voted for change - and yet we've failed to convince them that we're serious about delivering it."We win trust by staying true to our Labour values, and by being bold."Mr Lavery also backs universal Free School Meals and the "scrapping the callous changes to personal independence payment [Pip] that threaten the dignity and independence of people with disabilities". Newcastle East and Wallsend MP Mary Glindon welcomed the U-turn, suggesting the prime minister had been listening to his MPs and the issues brought up on people's doorsteps during election campaigning earlier this month."I had written to Rachel Reeves myself, as a constituency MP, asking her to reverse her decision on the winter fuel allowance," said Glindon."So I am particularly pleased by the announcement, although the devil will be in the detail – hopefully, it will be reinstated to every pensioner who needs it." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
South Wales Guardian
20-05-2025
- General
- South Wales Guardian
Pupils' enjoyment of school suffers ‘substantial decline' in Year 7
There is a steep drop in school enjoyment scores between pupils in the final year of primary school (Year 6) and those in Year 7, according to the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators. Pupils eligible for Free School Meals also report lower levels of enjoyment, trust and belonging than their peers, with the gaps widening throughout secondary school, the study found. The research – led by ImpactEd Group – tracked data from more than 100,000 pupils across England to explore how pupil engagement changed across the 2024/25 academic year. It found Year 7 pupils reported lower levels of enjoyment, trust, agency and safety between the autumn and spring of the first year of secondary school. Pupils were asked questions to capture their emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement and they responded using a 0-10 reporting scale. On average, pupils in England responded to the statement 'I feel happy to go to school in the morning' with a score of around 4.6 out of ten. The average school enjoyment score falls from around 6 among pupils in Year 6 to 3.8 for pupils in Year 7 and to 3.2 for pupils in Year 8, the study found. The report said the findings point towards Year 7 being 'a key point when pupils' enjoyment of school suffers a substantial decline.' Girls reported feeling marginally safer than boys at school during primary school, but between Year 7 and Year 9 girls increasingly feel less safe at school than their male peers, the research suggested. Data shows that feeling safe in schools falls from 7.21 in Year 7 to 5.89 in Year 9 for female pupils, and from 7.40 to 6.55 for male pupils. The study, led by Professor John Jerrim from UCL Institute of Education (IOE), raises questions about how to approach the transition to secondary school. It suggested there is a 'strong link' between headline engagement scores and attendance among secondary pupils. Secondary pupils in the top 25% of headline engagement scores are 10 percentage points less likely to be persistently absent than pupils in the bottom 25% of headline engagement scores. Dame Sue John, chairwoman of the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators, said: 'It is crucial that we identify the points at which pupils are starting to disengage with school, so that we can intervene to stop a disconnection leading to non-attendance and poorer outcomes. 'This research provides rich and nuanced insights into pupil engagement at a school and classroom level, which will enable leaders to act fast and understand more complex dynamics in their schools, such as what is happening at age 11 for different pupil groups.' Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The transition between primary and secondary school is a hugely important stage of a child's education. It can also be an unsettling time where issues with anxiety and behaviour can arise. 'As this study shows, a drop in engagement during this period can be hugely detrimental to a pupil's wellbeing and attainment. 'It is therefore vital that schools are able to access specialist support services that can break down any barriers preventing pupils from feeling happy and secure at school. 'This must include support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and for those suffering from poor mental health – services which are too often out of reach of schools.' A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: 'Through our Plan for Change, we are determined to give young people growing up in our country the best start. 'Our independent, expert-led curriculum and assessment review will ensure all children enjoy a cutting-edge school experience that leaves them ready for work and ready for life. 'This Government continues to break down barriers to opportunity, including through expanding mental health support, so all pupils are able to achieve and thrive in school.'
Belfast Telegraph
20-05-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Pupils' enjoyment of school suffers ‘substantial decline' in Year 7
There is a steep drop in school enjoyment scores between pupils in the final year of primary school (Year 6) and those in Year 7, according to the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators. Pupils eligible for Free School Meals also report lower levels of enjoyment, trust and belonging than their peers, with the gaps widening throughout secondary school, the study found. The research – led by ImpactEd Group – tracked data from more than 100,000 pupils across England to explore how pupil engagement changed across the 2024/25 academic year. It found Year 7 pupils reported lower levels of enjoyment, trust, agency and safety between the autumn and spring of the first year of secondary school. Pupils were asked questions to capture their emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement and they responded using a 0-10 reporting scale. On average, pupils in England responded to the statement 'I feel happy to go to school in the morning' with a score of around 4.6 out of ten. The average school enjoyment score falls from around 6 among pupils in Year 6 to 3.8 for pupils in Year 7 and to 3.2 for pupils in Year 8, the study found. The report said the findings point towards Year 7 being 'a key point when pupils' enjoyment of school suffers a substantial decline.' Girls reported feeling marginally safer than boys at school during primary school, but between Year 7 and Year 9 girls increasingly feel less safe at school than their male peers, the research suggested. Data shows that feeling safe in schools falls from 7.21 in Year 7 to 5.89 in Year 9 for female pupils, and from 7.40 to 6.55 for male pupils. The study, led by Professor John Jerrim from UCL Institute of Education (IOE), raises questions about how to approach the transition to secondary school. It suggested there is a 'strong link' between headline engagement scores and attendance among secondary pupils. Secondary pupils in the top 25% of headline engagement scores are 10 percentage points less likely to be persistently absent than pupils in the bottom 25% of headline engagement scores. Dame Sue John, chairwoman of the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators, said: 'It is crucial that we identify the points at which pupils are starting to disengage with school, so that we can intervene to stop a disconnection leading to non-attendance and poorer outcomes. 'This research provides rich and nuanced insights into pupil engagement at a school and classroom level, which will enable leaders to act fast and understand more complex dynamics in their schools, such as what is happening at age 11 for different pupil groups.' Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The transition between primary and secondary school is a hugely important stage of a child's education. It can also be an unsettling time where issues with anxiety and behaviour can arise. 'As this study shows, a drop in engagement during this period can be hugely detrimental to a pupil's wellbeing and attainment. 'It is therefore vital that schools are able to access specialist support services that can break down any barriers preventing pupils from feeling happy and secure at school. 'This must include support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and for those suffering from poor mental health – services which are too often out of reach of schools.' A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: 'Through our Plan for Change, we are determined to give young people growing up in our country the best start. 'Our independent, expert-led curriculum and assessment review will ensure all children enjoy a cutting-edge school experience that leaves them ready for work and ready for life. 'This Government continues to break down barriers to opportunity, including through expanding mental health support, so all pupils are able to achieve and thrive in school.'
Powys County Times
20-05-2025
- General
- Powys County Times
Pupils' enjoyment of school suffers ‘substantial decline' in Year 7
Pupils' enjoyment of school suffers a substantial decline during the first year of their secondary education, a study has suggested. There is a steep drop in school enjoyment scores between pupils in the final year of primary school (Year 6) and those in Year 7, according to the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators. Pupils eligible for Free School Meals also report lower levels of enjoyment, trust and belonging than their peers, with the gaps widening throughout secondary school, the study found. The research – led by ImpactEd Group – tracked data from more than 100,000 pupils across England to explore how pupil engagement changed across the 2024/25 academic year. It found Year 7 pupils reported lower levels of enjoyment, trust, agency and safety between the autumn and spring of the first year of secondary school. Pupils were asked questions to capture their emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement and they responded using a 0-10 reporting scale. On average, pupils in England responded to the statement 'I feel happy to go to school in the morning' with a score of around 4.6 out of ten. The average school enjoyment score falls from around 6 among pupils in Year 6 to 3.8 for pupils in Year 7 and to 3.2 for pupils in Year 8, the study found. The report said the findings point towards Year 7 being 'a key point when pupils' enjoyment of school suffers a substantial decline.' Girls reported feeling marginally safer than boys at school during primary school, but between Year 7 and Year 9 girls increasingly feel less safe at school than their male peers, the research suggested. Data shows that feeling safe in schools falls from 7.21 in Year 7 to 5.89 in Year 9 for female pupils, and from 7.40 to 6.55 for male pupils. The study, led by Professor John Jerrim from UCL Institute of Education (IOE), raises questions about how to approach the transition to secondary school. It suggested there is a 'strong link' between headline engagement scores and attendance among secondary pupils. Secondary pupils in the top 25% of headline engagement scores are 10 percentage points less likely to be persistently absent than pupils in the bottom 25% of headline engagement scores. Dame Sue John, chairwoman of the Research Commission on Engagement and Lead Indicators, said: 'It is crucial that we identify the points at which pupils are starting to disengage with school, so that we can intervene to stop a disconnection leading to non-attendance and poorer outcomes. 'This research provides rich and nuanced insights into pupil engagement at a school and classroom level, which will enable leaders to act fast and understand more complex dynamics in their schools, such as what is happening at age 11 for different pupil groups.' Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The transition between primary and secondary school is a hugely important stage of a child's education. It can also be an unsettling time where issues with anxiety and behaviour can arise. 'As this study shows, a drop in engagement during this period can be hugely detrimental to a pupil's wellbeing and attainment. 'It is therefore vital that schools are able to access specialist support services that can break down any barriers preventing pupils from feeling happy and secure at school. 'This must include support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and for those suffering from poor mental health – services which are too often out of reach of schools.' A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: 'Through our Plan for Change, we are determined to give young people growing up in our country the best start. 'Our independent, expert-led curriculum and assessment review will ensure all children enjoy a cutting-edge school experience that leaves them ready for work and ready for life. 'This Government continues to break down barriers to opportunity, including through expanding mental health support, so all pupils are able to achieve and thrive in school.'
