Two years ago, I had to open a food bank in my school in Camden. I wasn’t the only headteacher in this gut-wrenching position.
Too many pupils at my school in Camden were coming to school in the morning hungry.
It used to be that we referred a few children to the local food bank over a term. Then a trickle of cases got larger and larger and we felt compelled to provide an emergency scheme directly on site.
It’s not just my school. One in five schools in England — over 4,000 in total — report running food banks or food pantries on the school premises.
The cost of living crisis left huge sections of society newly struggling, most would not count as eligible for Free School Meals. As the headteacher, seeing my pupils' learning and life chances suffer, I was shocked and frustrated.
Then, last year, when the London Mayor Sadiq Khan extended Free School Meals for every child in primary school, I felt hopeful that times could be changing. London followed Wales, which had already put the funding in place to help their primary school kids.
I’ve seen first hand in my school the benefits of every child having a hot, healthy school dinner every day. Teachers tell me that pupils are more focused and engaged in lessons, and parents are comforted knowing that their children have a nutritious meal at school.
Shamefully, whilst London benefits, there's still no sign of Free School Meals for all in England
In Camden, one in three children live in poverty. While we now permanently have Free School Meals for every child, we’re still running our foodbank. The cost of living crisis hasn’t gone away. A hot school dinner is a lifeline for so many children, it might still be the only square meal that they have in a day.
Shamefully, whilst London benefits, there's still no sign of Free School Meals for all in England. That’s why next week, the National Education Union’s No Child Left Behind campaign, a coalition of educators, parents and civil society, is kicking off its National Tour, and will be visiting places up and down the country to ask for Free School Meals to be extended to all primary schools in England.
It’s been two months since the new Labour Government was elected. There are many familiar faces returning to Parliament from the summer break but there are also 335 new MPs in office for the first time. And I want to take this moment to speak to every single one.
Whilst we are delighted that the Government is backing new school breakfast clubs across the country, with all the work that takes to put in place, why stop on the first meal of the day? The tough situation that headteachers and educators face outside of London means that now, more than ever, a school dinners change is desperately needed.
Ultimately, we need children to focus on learning throughout the day, not worry about where their next meal is coming from. That’s why I’m proud to be part of the No Child Left Behind campaign working with over 300 civil society leaders and organisations who all have one common goal: to end child hunger in schools.
The new Labour Government has set up a child poverty task force. But as yet, they've resisted plans to scrap the extremely restrictive eligibility criteria for children receiving Free School Meals. Right now, outside London, families have to earn less than £7,400 a year for their children to be able to have a free hot school dinner.
I hope, as the No Child Left Behind tour van criss crosses the country, before parking up at Labour’s September party conference, the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hear our message. As we open our gates for the new school year, the new Government must be bolder and offer the funding schools need to deliver this simple yet transformational policy, not just for breakfast, but all the way through the school day.
