Commenting on today’s announcement from Government, Kevin
Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union, said:
“The NEU is relieved that the Department for Education has
clarified that it will meet the full costs incurred by schools
for providing Free School Meals and getting them to children who
are at home. We hope this will cover any hidden costs that arise
as schools work out the best way to operate during shut down.
“We’re pleased that the national portal for schools - with its
ability to get gift vouchers to eligible families - is an option
for schools, rather than a mandatory model for how to provide
school meals. Offering this as an option recognises that many
schools have worked so hard to get alternative arrangements in
place to cater for their local community. Many schools are
advertising free food for any in the local community who are
hungry.
“We think central government must work with local authorities to
help co-ordinate local information, so that local authorities are
not overwhelmed by queries from parents, charities and other
agencies.
“It is disappointing that Government has chosen not to make sure
that free school meals vouchers are available over the Easter
fortnight. This isn’t a normal school holiday and we are asking
teachers and support staff to volunteer to work, in support of
the NHS. Families on low incomes will need access to school meals
during this fortnight, particularly as food banks are seriously
overstretched and it is much harder to shop affordably at the
moment.
“Recent government statistics showed that 4.2m children are
trapped in poverty – this is likely to rise when the current
public health crisis subsides. Food vouchers might be the only
realistic and manageable intervention for many schools at the
moment, but we mustn’t normalise the idea of food provision to
poorer families. We must banish food poverty once the health
crisis is over, through better wages and secure employment.”
