Free schools meals in KS1

What will be the impact of free school meals for KS1 children post 2014? Wendy Jones catches a glimpse of the future in Southwark, where pupils haven’t had to pay for lunch since 2011...

Macaroni cheese was the hot favourite and the Year 5s were tucking in. This was proper macaroni cheese, made with a three-cheese sauce, accompanied by seasonal vegetables and a choice of 10 salads and followed by fruit or yoghurt. “It’s delicious and I love it,” said Romario.

Also on offer at John Donne primary school that lunchtime was fish pie flavoured with dill and tarragon. On other days the menu might include ratatouille and goats’ cheese winter pie, vegetable chow mein or jerk chicken. “The lunches have got flavour and they’re all different,” added Shannon. “My favourite is chicken and rice.”

What marks out this south London school, however, is not just the quality of the food (in the interests of investigative journalism, I tried the fish pie and can vouch for it) or the enthusiasm of the children as they form orderly queues and make their choices. It is also the economic model. For, like all primary schools in the borough of Southwark, John Donne offers free lunches to all pupils, regardless of their parents’ income. The ‘free healthy school meals’ project was trialled in 2011 and then gradually rolled out, at a three-year cost to the council of £8 million, or £1.90 per meal.

The results have been clear. Across the borough, take-up exceeds 90 per cent; the national average is 43 per cent. At John Donne, joint headteacher Evelyn Holdsworth says all but 12 of the 500 pupils now have school lunch, compared with around 300 in the past. “Children were bringing packed lunches with pre-packed tubes of cheese and chocolate bars. For lots of children, this is their main meal of the day.”

The financial stability promised by the roll out of free school meals gave the school the confidence to take over its own kitchen, cooking all meals on site. Chef Warren Simpson (chef, note, not cook) served his apprenticeship at London’s ultra-smart Connaught Rooms and came to the school after working in City restaurants and wine bars. “At first it was daunting working with children. But I’ve grown to love it. It’s about introducing them to flavours and educating them. I sit down and talk to them about what they like and don’t like,” he says.

Evelyn Holdsworth says the school’s food culture has changed. “Warren sometimes offers a salad with radicchio, goats’ cheese, rhubarb and honey, and that’s gone by the time the key stage 1 lunch is finished. That’s the little ones eating that! It’s a very effective way of counteracting obesity. Children who won’t try anything new tend to look for foods that are a quick and easy fix, with high fat and high sugar.”

Teaching assistant Gemma Taylor has three children at the school. Her oldest was “a really fussy eater”, but now “eats everything”. “It’s amazing,” she says. “He just wants to try a bit of everything.”

Not every school can match the culinary standards of John Donne – it also has its own vegetable and herb garden, with a brick oven built by the children, where pizzas and potatoes get cooked. But John Donne and Southwark are not alone in their ambitions. Free school meals for all primary pupils have also been piloted in Durham, Wolverhampton and the London boroughs of Newham and Islington. The rest of England will soon be following suit – at least in part. From next September, all key stage 1 children in English primary schools will be eligible for free school meals – an announcement made by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg last autumn.

This followed the publication of the School Food Plan. Written by the founders of the Leon restaurant chain, it pointed out that parents spend almost £1 billion a year on children’s packed lunches, that only 1 per cent of these meet the nutritional standards of school meals and that nearly 20 per cent of children are obese by the time they leave primary school. It also cited evidence that well-nourished children perform better at school. 

School meals and children’s eating habits have shot up the political agenda. Campaigners have been active for more than 20 years, but it was Jamie Oliver’s very public onslaught on Turkey Twizzlers in 2005 that really made the politicians take notice. The School Food Plan proposed a series of improvement measures, including extending free meals. The government’s key stage 1 move is a direct response to that, but some want it to go further and offer free meals to all primary children; as the NUT points out, children “do not stop being hungry at seven”.

Southwark’s cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr. Dora Dixon-Fyle, says rising child obesity was not the only issue that prompted the council to introduce its scheme. “We were also aware there was a lot of poverty and families were struggling to make ends meet. We had anecdotal evidence from teachers that children were going to school hungry and not concentrating. They were taking packed lunches and the quality was not great.”

In a recent survey, three-quarters of Southwark pupils rated their free school meal as good or very good. Although chips and burgers were still favourite foods, their popularity rating had slipped, as had the unpopularity of vegetables. Responses from parents were overwhelmingly favourable. They were saving money and some had tried to replicate the meals served at school. Further evaluations are now being carried out with the public health authority

At John Donne, Evelyn Holdsworth has noticed a change in the children’s behaviour. “They’re always keen to come to lunch and afterwards there certainly seems to be a reduction in playground incidents and the stress or anxiety you get if children haven’t eaten properly.”

Critics of universal free school meals point out that some parents can afford to pay and, with council budgets tight, this is not the best way of targeting children who need most help. But Cllr. Dixon-Fyle says the scheme is benefiting those families who are “on the cusp”, not eligible for benefits but struggling. Those who really could afford to pay can make a contribution to the school through the PTA, she suggests. She also points to the importance of bringing all children together for lunch and recalls her own experience as a pupil on free school meals: “I remember the stigma of being separated from my friends at lunch. I had to line up in one place while they were over the other side.”

There is, however, one matter that both council and government are finding tricky. The number of children registering for free school meals, i.e., those whose parents receive universal credit or other qualifying benefits, has always determined the amount of pupil premium that a school receives. If free meals no longer depend on benefits, how can parents be persuaded to register? Southwark has simplified the registration form but schools are responsible for collecting the information. Some are said to have offered incentives, such as free school uniform or book tokens, while others are relying on Lord Kitchener-style ‘your school needs you’ posters.

Free school meals will remain controversial, although not as controversial as once they were. Head Evelyn Holdsworth is positive the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. ”You end up with a calmer school, a calmer way of working and children who grow up more adventurous about their food. What can be wrong with that?”

About the author

Wendy Jones is a freelance journalist, a former BBC education correspondent and a trustee of National Numeracy nationalnumeracy.org.uk.

Digesting the facts

90%
The take up of free school meals in Lewisham primary schools

1%
The percentage of pack lunches that meet the nutritional standards of school meals (source: School Food Plan).

62%
The proportion of Southwark children who said their school dinners had encouraged them to try different foods at school.

50%
Fifty per cent of Southwark’s primary pupils now count fruit as among their favourites foods.