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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National

Ukrainian pupils taking refuge in the UK should get free school meals

Protesters in London demand the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, 24 May 2025.
Protesters in London demand the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during its invasion, 24 May 2025. Photograph: Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

I work at a state secondary school with (currently) 34 Ukrainian students and seven Ukrainian staff members – cleaners, a teacher and a psychologist. All are refugees.

The government announcement that children of parents benefiting from universal credit are to get free school meals in September 2026 has to be good news (Free school meal expansion in England will benefit fewer than claimed, IFS says, 5 June). But this does nothing to address the worrying situation for the many thousands of Ukrainian students in this country.

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