Getting free school meals on the table faster

Many families in crisis rely heavily on their entitlement to free school meals as a means of ensuring their children get at least one hot meal each day when times are tough at home.

The social, economic and educational benefits of ensuring the most vulnerable children have access to a nutritional meal during the school day are well documented. But it can take weeks for the system to catch up before confirmation of a parent or carer’s eligibility for free school meals results in the child receiving their meals in school.

Many authorities currently send spreadsheets through to their schools to let them know which of their pupils are entitled to free school meals.   

But the technology already exists that will speed up this process and help to get free school meals on the table much sooner.

Most authorities have systems in place that enable them to collect data directly from their schools’ IT systems, such as information on pupils’ attendance and behaviour or details of any exclusions.

It is also possible for councils to use technology such as this to push the most up-to-date pupil information from their own systems out to schools in an incredibly efficient way.

This means that the member of staff responsible for processing free school meal applications at the authority can key in details of those children who are eligible and this information is automatically transferred to their school within minutes. The child could then be enjoying a healthy, nutritious meal that very day.

Getting data on pupils eligible for free school meals to schools sooner could enable schools to secure Pupil Premium funding earlier too. And this money is essential in helping schools to provide support for the children and families most in need.

Increasing the take up of free school meals sits at the heart of the government’s pledge to cut childhood poverty and improve the health of some of the most vulnerable children across the country.

And the sooner schools can get meals to the children who need them, the greater the impact on those children and their families will be.