The free school meals (FSM) methodology does not “perfectly capture poverty” and allows schools to undertake a “subtle form of covert selection”, it has been claimed.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, says that a replacement is now needed to better reflect the causes of disadvantage.
FSMs are generally offered to any student whose family’s annual earnings fall below a certain threshold – around £15,000 a year.
The measure has become more significant since the introduction of the Pupil Premium, which uses FSM as part of its eligibility criteria for the funding – currently worth £935 per eligible secondary student.
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