According to the School and Nursery Milk Alliance (SNMA), too many children are missing out on free or subsidised milk when at school or nursery.
It says that following the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, many education settings are yet to restart their milk schemes. Also, that schools and nurseries are unaware of the different available programmes they can use to assist with the cost of providing milk.
In England, Scotland and Wales, all children under five years old attending an Ofsted registered setting are eligible for free cow’s, goat’s and sheep milk under the Nursery Milk Scheme. Reception pupils are eligible too through the Nursery Milk Scheme or through the School Milk Subsidy Scheme.
In Wales, pupils in Key Stage 1 are also eligible for free milk funded by the Welsh Government.
Research by SNMA, published today on World School Milk Day 2023 (Wednesday 27 September), finds that England leads the way among UK nations when it comes to school milk provision this year, providing an average of 116 servings of milk per pupil.
The Alliance also commissioned a poll of 2,156 adults across the UK which found that four out of five respondents think it is important for children to access free or subsidised milk in nurseries and schools.
'Millions are missing out on milk through of a lack of awareness of Government schemes.'
Jon Thornes, chair of SNMA, said, ‘It is heartening that so many people across the UK believe it is important that school children can drink free or subsidised milk when attending an education setting.
‘We urge the Government to do all it can to ensure that as many education settings are signed up to the available milk schemes so that as many children as possible are able to drink healthy milk at school or nursery.’
TV’s Dr Hilary Jones added, ‘Drinking milk on a regular basis improves health outcomes for children and yet millions are missing out through a simple lack of awareness of the available government schemes. There are numerous programmes available for children in schools and nurseries to access free healthy milk but the take-up is too low.
‘World School Milk Day 2023 is the perfect opportunity for the Government to ensure that schools and nurseries across the UK are aware of the different schemes that exist. The Government must encourage them to sign up to ensure that millions of children across the country can drink free healthy milk when at school.’
