It was great news last week that the Lib Dem pupil premium amount was confirmed at £2.5bn a year.
The basis for how much pupil premium is how many children are entitled and presumably claiming free school meals. A nice simple measure. For Southwark this could be incredibly good news. Southwark has the third highest success rate of 66% for kids entitled to free school meals claiming them. With so many kids in Southwark entitled and claiming free school meals a lot of money from the Pupil Premium should be coming to Southwark state schools.
This proportion would be easy to increase to 90% as Durham have via cashless card systems where no one knows publicy who is in receipt of free school meals. 90% is probably the maximum actually possible as the remaining 10% will be for kids who bring packed lunches or go home for lunch having some kind of family duty.
Labour led Southwark Council is planning to provide free school meals. Its not clear whether providing universal free school meals in primary schools will result in no one claiming for free school meals as what would the point be? This could see Southwark receiving no Pupil Premium resulting in the lose of many many millions of pounds.
The sad thing is that none of the actual research shows the aims of southwark labour will be met with universal free school meals and it now seem likely the cost to schools will be huge. Schools may be better to refuse free school meals and boycott them.
One other aspect of giving universal free school meals is that, if parents don’t apply for free school meals status, schools will be able to disguise covert selection. At the moment, it is known that academies have reduced the %age of students on free school meals (in answer to a Parliamentary Question last year). If all students are on free school meals or none apply officially, this will mean that schools can select without appearing to.
In Durham it’s because they are a pilot area for universal free school meals which the Tory-Lib Dem Government is abolishing.
But Durham now have 90% of entitled kids claiming free school meals. They’ve done this by deplying a cashless card system.
Do you think a cashless card system is more important than providing the meals universally for free? Really?
I think providing universal free school meals which Southwark Labour had stated as lunch utterly pointless. No evidence it will fight obestiy as claimed. The Durham cashless system had seen 90% of those entitled claiming free school meals/lunches.
IF Southwark Labour feel they have money to splash around then the only evidence of benefit for a school provided meal is breakfast. So introduce cashless systems to primary and secondary schools and offer free breakfasts in preferences to lunches to those in most need. Of even greater benefit would be changing the school application forms giving a disclaimer to check automatically for free school meals and then data match school rolls with social security behind the scenes and load student cashless cards automatically. We’d see 90+% take up for all children in state schools.
Appears this was not true or as Clegg himself would say, a lie!!! see the BBC
‘Pupil premium’ means school cuts elsewhere – Gove
Hi Gary,
The IFS have calculated that the Pupil Premium will deliver an extra £2,400 for every pupil on free school meals into schools.
It’s less than a week since the CSR announcements and I’d hope for more clarity about this. Everyone from Nick Clegg and David Cameron was expecting ‘new money’ for the PP.
James, you’ve changed your argument. We are not talking about whether or not a universal free school meals programme is a good idea. You said that Durham achieved 90% take up because of a cashless card system. Whether or not you agree with the idea or not, you must concede that the fact that lunches are free to all is far more important a factor in take-up than a cashless card system. Just saying.
We’ve looked and found no evidence about obesity and free school meals.
The only evidence on attainment relates to ensuring breaksfasts are eaten by kids.
So will free school meals ie. lunches achieve the stated goals of Southwark Labour of reduced obesity and higher attainment. No evidence they will. They will save money for parents who’s kids go to Southwark Primary schools and the 10% of kids from Lambeth and Lewisham who go to Southwark Schools.
My understanding is 90% success in getting people to claim free schools meals has been achieved in Durham and the report I’ve seen suggests this is due to it being a cashless system.
Labour in Southwark are suggesting free school meals for all kids at primary level. Currently 66% of kids that are entitled to free school meals are claiming them. So the estimated extra £5M will gain roughly 24% more take up of free school meals as the probable maximum is 90% take up as a proportion will opt out and take sandwiches etc.
What’s proposed will have zero impact on secondary school levels where the what dozen schools moving to cashless systems which for such sized schools would cost around £20,000 per school would have real lasting impact on FSM take-up.