School meal rise will still see schools subsidising costs says NAHT

Commenting on the government's announcement that it will increase the amount given to schools to help fund universal infant free school meals from £2.53 per child to £2.58 for the 2023/24 financial year, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“While this increase is a step in the right direction, it will still leave many schools having to subsidise free infant school meals from budgets already under considerable pressure after years of real-terms funding cuts under previous governments.

“School Food Matters, which runs food education programmes in schools, has estimated that it now costs £3.16 to provide a hot meal.

“Suppliers may have to pass on increased costs of producing meals and while schools work with them to try and maintain the quality of food provided, school leaders are facing impossible choices about where to cut spending.

“We urge the government to address this situation so that schools are not expected to use their education budget to subsidise school meals.”