Nearly 2.1 million pupils in England are now eligible for free school meals, new figures show.
An additional 75,000 children became eligible for free school meals over the last year, according to data published by the Department for Education (DfE).
Nearly one in four (24.6 per cent) of pupils in England were eligible for free school meals in January this year, up from 23.8 per cent in January 2023.
This amounts to 2.09 million children, up from 2.02 million in January 2023.
Education sector leaders said the numbers were just “the tip of the iceberg” as some children living in poverty are missing out on free school meals.
There are sharp differences in eligibility for free school meals across regions of England.
The Independent has put together this map below to show the regional variations of eligibility across the country.
The highest rate is for north-east England, where 31.2 per cent of all state school pupils were eligible, while the lowest is south-east England at 19.7 per cent.
The regions shown the largest increase are East Midlands and West Midlands which have both seen an increase of 1.0 percentage point since 2023.
The South West has the lowest increase - 0.5 percentage points, reaching a rate of 20.5 per cent in 2024. All regions show some increase from 2023.
Children in state schools in England can receive free meals if a parent or carer is receiving one of a number of benefits, including Universal Credit, child tax credits or income support.
All pupils who have become eligible for free school meals since April 1 2018 will remain eligible until March 2025 as part of protections introduced during the rollout of Universal Credit, which the DfE has said is a factor that is likely to have contributed to the ongoing increase.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Free school meals offer a vital safety net for families and their children, and while these figures shine a light on the numbers who are struggling right now, they are sadly just the tip of the iceberg.
“The very low income cap of £7,400 for free school meals means some children living in poverty are missing out, and it is appalling that this cap has not been increased with inflation since it was introduced six years ago.”
Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust charity, said: “It’s appalling that there are record numbers of children eligible for free school meals, indicating rising poverty.
“Unfortunately, these figures represent just the tip of the iceberg.”
He added: “The true need for free school meals goes far beyond current eligibility criteria.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: “Schools do all they can to alleviate the problems children and young people face through poverty but this should not be happening in the first place.
“These inequalities do not start and end at the school gates.
“An incoming government must address child poverty by immediately scrapping the two-child limit and ensuring every child has a free school meal.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “The increase in the number of pupils eligible for free school meals reflects the very difficult financial situations that many families are facing.
“What’s even more concerning is we know that there are hundreds of thousands of children who are living in poverty but are not currently eligible, as well as significant numbers of pupils who are eligible but are not currently making use of the scheme.”
