Every region in England has seen the number of children eligible for free school meals rise, according to statistics released by the government.
Data from January shows that 22.5% of students now qualify, an increase from 20.8% in 2019, and 13.6% in 2018. In numbers, this is an additional 160,000 pupils in just twelve months.
Furthermore, according to the Child Poverty Action Group, a further 800,000 children are living in poverty, but do not meet the requirements for the free meals.
‘The only [meal] you get’
The highest increases have been in London and the West Midlands, yet the North East and the West Midlands remain to have the highest eligibility rates at 29.1% and 26.5% respectively.
Headteacher of Shirley High School in Croydon, Tyrone Myton, spoke to the BBC. He noted that there had been a ‘significant rise’ in free school meals amongst his students.
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He added: ‘From my own personal experience, sometimes the hot meal that you get at school might be the only one that you get, so it’s important that we are able to offer that to people that can’t always afford it.’
‘I come from a council area in south London so I feel that we need to ensure that the gap between the haves and the have-nots doesn’t grow’, Myton continued.
‘Emergency rations’
Paul Gosling, the president of the National Association of Head Teachers, told the BBC that 45% of his pupils at Exeter Road Community Primary School, Devon, were on free school meals, after what he described as a ‘shocking and stark’ rise in poverty.
He said: ‘The local food bank has given me ’emergency rations’ to pass on to families in crisis.
‘We have also recently noticed a rise in children coming to school tired as they have no heating on at home and find it difficult to sleep on cold nights.’
An official from the Department for Education told the BBC that it ‘communicated regularly with schools and councils so they know what is available for these children’, adding that ‘our National School Breakfast Programme and the Holiday Activities and Food Programme are also benefiting children across the country.’