In England, 1.2 million school children in poverty do not get free school meals. 700,000 of them – often from poor, working families – aren’t even entitled to this key support. The remaining 500,000 are put off claiming both by systems that clearly single out those receiving free meals, which can lead to teasing and bullying, and by the poor quality of some of the food on offer. This report shows that giving children in poverty a free school meal makes sense on every level.
