Free school meals has got mixed response from school going students. The Institute for Social & Economic Research (ISER) has come to conclude, after some research, that the stigma attached to receive free school meals was the contributing factor for children not utilising it. The fact that eligible children often had to eat at different times or sit apart, for reasons like lack of space, also contributed to this. Over 1.1 million children are eligible to free school meals (FSM) out of which 300,000 families are not using their entitled benefit.
When free school meals (FSM) are not claimed, it affects the accessing funding for the school. The Pupil Premium is currently £600 for every child registered any-time for the past 6 years for the FSM. It is also applied to children under care for more than 6 months and children whose parents are in the armed forces. At the conference of Liberal Democrats, School Minister David Law declared that the Pupil Premium would be up to £900 a year, by this time in the year 2014. Moreover a school can only claim the funding if parents of children have declared their eligibility for FSM. Local authorities have requested school authorities to persuade parents to apply for the FSM so that they can access the increased Pupil Premium of the student in the school.
A study by Mr. Angus Holford at ISRE of the University of Essex, found the experiment by Scotland over the academic year 2007- ’08, useful. They made temporarily available to all pupils from 5 to 8 years old, the free school meals (FSM) in 5 areas. The result was a rise in pupils not registered for FSM, by 14% from the 38%. There was more take-up by registered pupils too. Mr. Holford also found that anonymous payment schemes, helping parents to receive benefits or pre-register to pay online, also increased take-up considerably. The fact was higher peer group take-up thus reduced the stigma attached to participating in Free School Meals.
