Commenting on latest figures which show an increase in the
proportion of children eligible for free school meals, Geoff
Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“The increase in free school meal eligibility over the course of
the pandemic illustrates the financial impact on many families.
Child poverty was already a terrible blight on our society prior
to coronavirus. The situation is now even worse and tackling this
issue simply has to be a top priority for the government. This is
a crucial part of educational as well as societal recovery
because children are much more likely to learn effectively if
they are not struggling with the impact of financial hardship.
“These statistics also suggest the extent to which the government
has short-changed schools by a technical change to the way in
which pupil premium money to support disadvantaged pupils is
allocated. In deciding to base this allocation on the October
school census rather than the January census, schools will have
missed out on funding for those children who became eligible in
the interim. These statistics show that the number of pupils
eligible for free school meals increased by 100,000 in this
period which indicates a very large funding hole. Whatever the
motivation for this change in the rules the result is nothing
short of shameful.”
