The percentage of pupils eligible for the benefit rose from 15.5 to 15.9 per cent in nursery and primary schools, from 13.1 to 13.4 per cent in secondary schools and from 31.6 to 32.1 per cent in special schools.
This equates to an additional 17,370 pupils on free school meals.
Children's minister Dawn Primarolo denied that the statistics mean that child poverty has risen.
She said: "We have lifted half a million children out of relative poverty but are now upping our game by legislating to eradicate child poverty by 2020 so that all children have the best start in life and have the opportunities to flourish."
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