The nation’s biggest teaching union has slammed a decision to delay free school meals to all primary children as “shameful”.
The Scottish Government gave a commitment to provide all P6 and P7 children with free school meals by last August.
Primaries one to five already receive free meals.
But the roll-out was delayed and, after this year’s Scottish Budget, it was put back further until 2024.
Andrea Bradley, head of teachers’ union the EIS, blasted the SNP for “obscuring” the information in its plans.
She said: “Delaying the roll-out of free school meals to all primary school children was a shameful decision, which runs contrary to the Scottish Government’s stated commitment to tackling child poverty.
“This is now the second time that the roll-out of this hugely important policy has been delayed, with serious consequences for thousands of children and families across Scotland. It is also extremely disappointing how this change in policy came to light – not announced in Parliament but obscured within the detail of the budget document itself.”s
She said the “watered-down, means-tested policy” being implemented for P6 and P7, would put a strain on families struggling with the soaring cost of living.
She added: “Means-testing of entitlement also does nothing to reduce the stigma families and young people often feel in claiming a free meal.
“This leads to many young people declining to take a free meal in order to avoid unwanted scrutiny from others, or being isolated from friends if they do go to the school canteen for their meal when their friends are not entitled to free meals and go elsewhere to eat.”
Bradley is a member of the STUC Women’s Committee, which has been a long-term campaigner for free school meals to combat the impact of poverty.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the SNP government was fully committed to expanding the free school meal programme.
She added: “All pupils in primaries one to five, children in funded early learning and childcare and eligible pupils in P6 through to S6 benefit from free meals in Scotland – the most generous universal provision of anywhere in the UK.
“A number of local authorities have indicated that they face challenges in planning for the substantial expansion of free school meals.
“It is right that we work in partnership with local government to deliver our shared commitment.”
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