News

Pressure builds as free school meals petition passes 300,000 signatures

School food Pastoral issues Government policy Pupil wellbeing Poverty Coronavirus Vulnerable children
A petition urging an expansion of free school meals (FSM) to every child whose family is on Universal Credit as well as to cover school holiday periods has reached more than 300,000 signatures.

Launched by footballer Marcus Rashford, the petition is the latest move by his Child Food Poverty Taskforce, which has been set up as part of the #endchildfoodpoverty campaign.

It comes as the Labour Party has also called for the government to expand FSM to cover school holidays until spring 2021.

The petition calls for FSM eligibility to be expanded to include every child (up to the age of 16) from a household where the parent/carer is in receipt of Universal Credit or equivalent. This would give 1.5 million more seven to 16-year-olds access to FSM. It also calls on ministers to provide meals and activities to FSM children during all school holidays.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here