Commenting on the report published today on universal infant free
school meals by the Education Policy
Institute, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the
NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:
“Today’s report from the EPI confirms that those who claimed at
time that introducing a universal school meals entitlement for
infant pupils would be near to impossible have been proved wrong.
“The report confirms that even the most significant challenges
schools have faced were surmountable and that the small number of
schools continuing to face difficulties should learn from those
that have implemented the policy well.
“The benefits to parents of this policy are beyond debate,
particularly in terms of the costs and time they have saved in
not having to pay for a school meal or to prepare a packed lunch.
The universal entitlement has also helped promote important
debates in schools among parents, pupils and staff about the
benefits of healthy eating.
“Given the advantages of this policy, it is essential that the
Government retains its commitment to it, helps schools share good
practice in terms of managing provision and ensures that the
funding schools receive for addressing poverty and deprivation is
not affected by the lower registrations for free school meals
that may be an unintended consequence of this initiative.”
