Failures include the family income threshold of £7,400 for eligibility being set too low, according to the Education Policy Institute (EPI).
Also, “factors such as housing costs and family size, which are heavily associated with poverty” are not being considered.
The think-tank found that “partly by design” the current system means “fewer children are registered for FSM than are estimated to be in poverty”.
The system’s opt in arrangements are also called into question by the EPI, which agrees with a report by the Education Select Committee last month, which called for auto-enrolment.
Groups most likely to miss out under the current system are those with Pakistani, Bangledeshi or Indian heritage. Poverty rates are “far higher” than those registered for free school meals among these groups.
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