Research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research highlights the stigma of receiving free school meals. It also says that the fact that children who are eligible for them often have to sit apart from their friends because of lack of space or eat at different times, are key factors that lead to 300,000 families a year not using the benefit despite their entitlement.
More than 1.1 million children are eligible for free school meals, calculated to be worth around £400 a year to parents. They also ensure that children are able to eat a nutritionally balanced meal.
Not claiming for free school meals also means that schools miss out on accessing funding for the Pupil Premium, which is currently worth around £600 a year for every child who has been registered for free school meals at any time in the past six years, as well as children in care who have been looked after for more than six months, and children whose parents are in the armed forces.
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