As reported by BBC News, thousands more children from England’s poorest households are eating a free school meal because of a new trial scheme
The pilot project, run by the Fix Our Food research programme and involving dozens of councils, is identifying previously unregistered eligible children and automatically enrolling them.
Families who qualify for free school meals usually have to register their children to get a meal, even if they meet the criteria. The Department for Education has encouraged all eligible families who are not automatically enrolled to register.
In England, families are eligible to apply for free school meals, external if they are on universal credit and have a household income below £7,400 per year, after tax.
One estimate, by thinktank Policy in Practice, external, suggests there could be an additional 470,000 families who meet the free school meal criteria but are not registered.
Fix Our Food has helped about 20 local authorities implement the trial scheme so far.
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