A campaign that helped hundreds of Sunderland schoolchildren access the free school meals they are entitled to is set to return this spring.
Led by Sunderland City Council and Together for Children, the initiative previously helped 657 pupils join the scheme, after it was discovered that some parents and carers were either unaware their children qualified or had not yet made a claim.
In many cases it also identified additional benefits the families were entitled to which, together with the free school meals, resulted in Sunderland families benefitting from more than £1.1m in new support.
Following its success, the initial scheme, which took place over the school summer holidays last year, is to be repeated to make sure that any newly eligible families don’t miss out.
Councillor Michael Butler, Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Child Poverty and Skills, said:
“This is all about making sure that children in Sunderland who qualify for free school meals aren’t missing out on what they’re entitled to, by removing barriers such as paperwork and lack of awareness.
“We set out last summer to automatically identify and register families who are eligible for free school meals but not claiming, with the aim of all eligible families being identified and registered by the first week of the 2025/26 academic year and having successfully managed to achieve that, we plan to repeat the exercise this spring.
“Schemes like this make such a difference to the lives of families struggling to make ends meet in our city. It’s not just about receiving a free, hot, healthy meal at school – that alone will save families around £500 per child per year. But it also means families have priority access to free Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programmes during the school holidays, including a healthy meal for each child at every session they attend.”
Simon Marshall, Chief Executive of Together for Children and the city’s Director of Children’s Services, wrote to families believed to be eligible at the start of last summer to explain how they’d been identified.
The letter was accompanied by a Q&A explaining everything families might need to know about the project, as well as information on how to opt out.
Mr Marshall said:
“We know that not every parent who is entitled to free school meals for their child will apply for them, so we started by contacting families we believed were in receipt of Housing Benefits and/or Council Tax Support, to let them know that they were eligible and the key benefits that they could expect to receive as a result of being signed up to the scheme.
“These include children receiving healthy meals at school and access to free holiday clubs, as well as ensuring schools receive extra funding and helping families to save money. This means more families being supported, and more children getting the nutrition they need to thrive.”
It’s not just eligible children and their parents who benefit from claiming free school meals. Schools also benefit from more children signing up to free school meals – receiving extra government funding in the form of the Pupil Premium for every child who qualifies for free school meals.
This is worth £1,455 per primary pupil and £1,035 per secondary pupil every school year and can help with things such as the cost of uniforms, books, or school trips, running free breakfast clubs, or providing extra learning support like speech therapy or mentoring.
But parents who think they may be eligible to claim free school meals for their children, don’t have to wait for the council to contact them.
Cllr. Butler added:
“I’d urge anyone who thinks their child may be eligible for free school meals to apply right away because it can make such a difference and as a council committed to tackling child poverty, we don’t want any families in this city missing out on the benefits they’re entitled to.”
To find out more about free school meals and how to apply if you think your children are eligible, visit: Free School Meals – Together for Children
