Free School Meals As A Proxy – What Is Going On?

Endless education headlines are littered with the phrase ‘free school meals as a proxy’ in Wales right now. But, what does this mean, and why is it such a focus? In previous articles, we have looked at the importance of removing the streamlined view of education that can prevent some kids from reaching their full potential. The issue with free school meals currently is that they exist as a proxy, that can contribute to this issue. Is how free school meals currently get assigned creating a gap in success for all students? Could a re-think of how free school meals are looked at change the success rate of students in Wales? Today we will answer these questions.

What is the truth behind all the free school meals news?

Free School Meals – A Breakdown Of The Problem

Just before the schools started back, free school meals were made available to all primary school children in Wales. This means that every child in Wales below the age of 11 gets access to school meals, regardless of their family’s income. While some schools were ahead of this decision, it should now be true in all primary schools across the country. This is extremely important as this meal may be the biggest or only meal of the day for some children. The hope is, that introducing free school meals for all students of primary age will help reduce the impacts of poverty on learning. In turn, this could lead to better opportunities in the future for those in less-well-off situations.

So, what is the issue? The issue for some is that this is yet to be seen in comprehensive-age schools. Hunger for many students can be a massive distraction from learning. In many reports, those below the poverty line are usually also the primary groups who suffer more in education. This spells out that there is a clear line between poverty and lower grades. Hunger is something that can distract from adequate learning and lead to worse grades. So, surely there should be advocacy for the free school meal scheme to extend to comprehensive age groups too?

How Free School Meals Are Calculated

Before the new rollout of free school meals for all primary-age children, tax brackets/income would dictate who was eligible. This rule still exists in many other places across the UK and comprehensive schools. In places where there are no free school meals for all, this income calculation can be a massive issue. This is an issue because the eligibility criteria state that those eligible must earn less than £7,400 a year before benefits and after-tax per year. This is a figure that has not been updated since pre-COVID. If it had risen in line with inflation that number would be £9,000, a whopping £1,600 more. This leaves a gigantic percentage of households ineligible, who should have eligibility if the calculations considered the last 6 years of inflation.

While this is not a concern anymore for parents of children in primary school, those in secondary school have plenty of concerns regarding this outdated criteria. While it would be ideal for the criteria to be updated to reflect inflation, perhaps it would make more sense to enable free school meals for all age groups.

Hunger Versus Learning

While, in the 21st century, you would think that it would be obvious a hungry child will not learn well. The fact that free school meals for all in primary schools have only just been enforced across Wales is amazing. Recent studies have shown that groups which suffer most with their grades are ALN students and children from poorer backgrounds. The education system needs to look at how we can improve education opportunities and learning comprehension in ALN students. However, if poverty is still a factor that influences learning todays society, we have to wonder where we are going wrong.

Children from homes with all income types should have the same opportunities and resources available to them in school as their peers. This includes food access.

The Developmental Risks Of Hunger

While ensuring primary-age children get access to free school meals is very important, it is also important for comprehensive-age children as well. The brain does not stop growing until adulthood. A lack of food access and nutrients may not only affect learning but perhaps brain development in some children. Similarly, children of comprehensive age will go through substantial biological changes, which can bring challenges in school anyway. Adding a lack of substantial nutrition, and food availability could worsen this issue in an age group that requires excess sustenance for growth. It is overall, dangerous for child health for them to be left malnourished.

We should not be living in a developed world where malnourishment is normal in our youth. With over 10,000 students in need going without free school meals in the North-East of England, it is worrying. Luckily new laws have lessened the concern over this in Wales. That being said, Wales could do very well to be the first UK country to ensure all age groups have substantial nourishment in their schooling hours.

Overall

We can all agree that food is a basic human need, one that is required for us to grow learn, and do well. This is why we do not want to see kids going hungry. It is the bare minimum. While in Wales we have assured that all kids below the age of 11 will receive food, so why stop there? All kids, in all education settings, up to adulthood should have access to free school meals. At BEST we believe that the real defining line should be closer to the National Minimum Wage for a household to receive free school meals.

All children deserve a fighting chance at a quality education. Receiving a quality education includes having enough food to fuel their learning. Let’s prevent hunger and educational poverty in Wales. Period.