In a poll of over 1000 parents in England, commissioned by the National Education Union and conducted by Deltapoll, we asked for their thoughts about free school meals. The poll was conducted in the days following the announcement of a General Election.
The poll found:
- More than three quarters (77%) support extending free school meals to all primary school children irrespective of household income.
- Nine in ten (91%) parents of children who had received free school meals at some point said they were helpful, because they saved time and money while ensuring their children had a healthy lunch at school.
- A vast majority of parents told us they saw free school meals as necessary to ensure no child is hungry (84%), and to improve health (80%) and education (79%) outcomes.
- Three-quarters of parents (75%) recognised that free school meals will pay for themselves through producing better outcomes for children and increasing their lifetime earnings.
Free School Meals are currently provided to all children in Reception through to Year 2 (ages 4-7). They are also available to Year 3-6 children whose families are on certain benefits, claiming Universal Credit or have an income below £7,400 per year.
Expanding Provision
Parents have firmly come out in support of extending free school meals to all children and ending the current means testing system.
After being told the current national arrangement for Free School Meals, as outlined above, we asked for parents’ view on a range of options.
From what you know, do you support or oppose the provision of Free School Meals.
| Support | Oppose | Neither | Don’t Know | |
| For all children in Reception to Year 2 | 87% | 6% | 6% | 1% |
| For children in Years 3-6 on certain benefits or income below £7,400 per year | 73% | 13% | 12% | 1% |
| All primary children in England | 77% | 11% | 10% | 1% |
| All children in school in England up to the age of 18 | 71% | 14% | 14% | 1% |
We then set out the position of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who recently announced that he would make free school meals available to all primary school pupils in London permanently. Of those polled, 74% supported this scheme with just 11% opposing it. Some 44% strongly supported.
When informed that the current Labour policy is to reflect the existing national arrangements for Free School Meals, consistent with the Conservatives, parents were again asked for their views. In a binary choice 58% favoured FSM for all primary school children in England, with 34% preferring to stick with the status quo. The remaining 8% were Don’t Knows.
The Benefits
Parents recognise the many benefits of free school meals, with nine out of ten (91%) of those who had experience of their child receiving them telling us they were helpful. This help expressed itself in many ways. When asked to identify just one way, the top results were money saved (33%), ensuring a healthy lunch (28%), saving time on preparing lunches (16%), and helping their child focus better at school (10%).
We provided a series of statements on Free School Meals, inviting parents to give their view on each:
| Agree | Disagree | Neither | Don’t Know | |
| The provision of FSM is necessary just to ensure no child goes hungry at school | 84% | 5% | 10% | 1% |
| FSM help improve children’s health | 80% | 4% | 14% | 2% |
| FSM help improve attainment and performance levels among those receiving them | 79% | 6% | 12% | 2% |
| FSM were important during the pandemic when many families could not work but now they are an unnecessary expense that is unaffordable | 62% | 23% | 12% | 2% |
| Providing FSM for all children would support the Government’s responsibility to ensure that low income or poverty does not limit a child’s ability to reach their full potential in school | 81% | 5% | 12% | 1% |
| With so many needs in society, there are better things to spend taxpayer money on that ensuring no child goes hungry at school | 45% | 40% | 13% | 2% |
| FSM pay for themselves over the long term by producing better health outcomes and higher lifetime earnings | 75% | 7% | 16% | 2% |
There is again clear support for Free School Meals and its benefits, with significant disagree sentiment towards the more negative options in this question. There is a firm belief that FSM is an important component in any plan to ensure no child goes hungry and that every child should prosper.
Viewing Free School Meals as a positive economic investment is supported by the cost-benefit analysis of universal free school meals carried out by PwC and has been borne out in reality in a longitudinal study of the policy in Sweden.
Commenting on the poll results, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“It is clear that the vast majority of parents want to see free school meals for all rolled out across England, as is happening in Scotland, Wales and London. It falls to the main parties to meet this demand.
“It is a disgrace that one in three children living in poverty in England is considered ‘too well off’ to access free school meals. This is because of the draconian eligibility thresholds currently in place.
“Across the country our members tell us they are having to feed hungry children from their own pockets, while many are struggling to make ends meet themselves. This cannot continue.
“It makes no sense that in one of the richest countries in the world, children are sat in classrooms with empty bellies. It should not fall to already-squeezed school budgets to plug this gap.
“Parents recognise the many benefits of free school meals to their children’s health and education, to their own pockets and to the wider economy. Parents also think that an investment in free school meals for all will pay for itself, as analyses have shown.
“The next government must take note of these findings and urgently address this issue. That is why we have launched a manifesto stating that to value education, you must vote for education. We need to end child poverty, starting with the removal of the two-child benefit cap and guarantee a free, nutritious school lunch for every pupil.
“It is vital that we invest in the next generation with free school meals for all, so that no child is left behind.”
Editor’s Note
The survey of 1,063 parents in England was conducted by Deltapoll on behalf of the National Education Union between 22-29 May 2024, the week following the announcement of a General Election.
The data have been weighted to be representative of the population of parents in England as a whole.