59 h. ago The Guardian view on child poverty: free school meals are a help, but not a panacea | Editorial

Giving lunch to more pupils is a good move – but poor nutrition points to deeper problems that ministers must faceIt was Ellen Wilkinson, education minister in the Attlee government, who announced in 1946 that free school dinners would be introduced, along with free school milk, at the same time as child benefit. No doubt Rachel Reeves, who has a picture of Wilkinson on the wall of her office, is aware of this – and also that the Treasury subsequently decided the policy was unaffordable. The meals were subsidised instead.Despite these initial charges, and later price rises, poorer children did gain, and keep, an entitlement to free school meals. The announcement last week that this is being extended in England to all those whose parents or carers claim universal credit – rather than restricted to families with incomes lower than £7,400 – should be welcomed by all objectors to child poverty. Being assured of a hot lunch in the middle of the school day makes pupils’ lives be...

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5 d. ago Voices: Rachel Reeves: I saw firsthand what the Tories did to kids of my generation

Conservative governments did not care about schools like mine, communities like mine or the kids I grew up with, reflects Chancellor Rachel Reeves – as she reveals her very personal motivation behind Labour’s announcement to roll out free school meals for half a million of England’s poorest children

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5 d. ago Should all children be given free school meals? Vote in our poll

Keir Starmer has announced plans to extend free school meals to all children in families receiving Universal Credit in England in a bid to tackle child hunger in the classroom - and we want to hear your thoughts

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5 d. ago Starmer describes free school meal expansion as ‘down payment’ on child poverty

Ministers have announced plans to expand free school meals to all pupils in England in families on universal credit from September 2026.

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5 d. ago All the pupils eligible for free school meals in England in your area

Nearly half of pupils in Manchester are eligible

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5 d. ago Pupils eligible for free school meals in England, by local area

Nearly half of pupils in Manchester are currently eligible for free meals.

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5 d. ago More than one in four pupils in England now eligible for free school meals

The figures come as the Government announced plans to expand free lunches to all pupils in families that claim universal credit from September 2026.

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6 d. ago Free school meals for half a million of England’s poorest children

The move, which comes after a major campaign by The Independent, said the expansion will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty

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3 w. ago Pupils’ enjoyment of school suffers ‘substantial decline’ in Year 7 – study

Girls increasingly feel less safe at school than their male peers in the early years of secondary school, the report also suggests.

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