The UK’s largest children’s charity Barnardo’s is to be joined by actress and ambassador Michelle Collins, known for her long-standing roles in Coronation Street and Eastenders, to deliver a petition of over 32,000 signatures to Downing Street, calling on the government to roll out free school meals for all primary school pupils in England
Barnardo’s CEO Lynn Perry MBE, Michelle and young people who have been supported by the charity, will hand in the petition to Number 10 at midday on Thursday 2 March.
More than one in four children in the UK are living in poverty, and the cost-of-living crisis is making this worse as families struggle to pay their bills.
Scotland and Wales have already committed to providing free meals for primary school children and are gradually rolling this out. Barnardo’s wants to ensure those in England aren’t left behind. While children in reception, Years one and two, receive free meals in England, older primary school pupils are currently only eligible to receive them if their families have total earnings below £7,400 per year. This leaves around 800,000 children who are living in poverty but do not qualify for free school meals.
The charity says free school meals for all primary aged children would mean that every child would get at least one nutritious and filling meal a day, whatever they are facing at home. It would also relieve stress and anxiety for children at mealtimes and relieve pressure for families living in poverty. The provision of free school meals has been shown to reduce obesity and improve attainment at school.
Recent research from Barnardo’s has painted a deeply concerning picture, with families it supports struggling to afford food, and frontline workers saying they are stepping in to prevent children going hungry. More than half of parents have been forced to cut back on food spending for their family, while one in five said they have struggled to provide sufficient food for their children.
Experiencing poverty can trigger stress, and even harm children’s brain development, as well as their physical and mental health. These negative effects can follow a child throughout their life.
Actress and Barnardo’s ambassador Michelle Collins said: “As a child of a single parent mother, my sister and I were eligible for free school meals, but it was a separate queue in the seventies, and kids were made to feel humiliated. So, my mum decided she wouldn’t put us through that, and she managed to get the money together. She often had three jobs going at one time.
“I think sadly there is still a stigma around free school meals. I think it should just be universal free school meals so, for whatever reason parents can’t pay, everyone is treated the same – no questions asked. Also, in this current economic crisis anything can happen and parents who can afford school meals one minute may not be able to afford them if they fall on hard times. It has been proven that having a nutritious meal at school helps kids with learning and concentration. These are our kids, and we need them to be healthy and thriving not falling asleep.”
Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry MBE said: “It is unacceptable that children are going hungry in a country which has the sixth largest economy in the world. The cost-of-living crisis is driving more and more families into poverty, and we know from our frontline work that this will affect children now and long into the future.
“Not having enough to eat can affect children’s growth, make it difficult to focus at school and harm their future life opportunities.
“Whether children have enough to eat shouldn’t be determined by their postcode. That is why we are calling on the government to introduce free school meals for all primary school children in England, to support struggling families across the UK, and to do more to tackle hunger during the school holidays.”
Studies have also shown that children who do not have enough nutritious food experience anxiety, poor mental health, poor social and emotional development, and achieve less in school.
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