After over a decade of austerity, child poverty has increased. As Keir Starmer warns of ‘tough decisions’ to come, likely to weigh heaviest on the poor, will free school meals be on the chopping block? Child Poverty Action Group estimates that 900,000 children live in poverty but are ineligible for free school meals. The Socialist Party fights for free school meals for all children, and for kicking out private catering companies siphoning profit from our school system.
Jay Coward, South East London Socialist Party member, recounts how vital free school meals are:
I spent five years working in the education sector, working exclusively in lower income areas with children with special educational needs and disabilities who were all primary school age or younger. One such job involved working with a student who had it rough in their home life and would often act out at school because of this in ways that you would expect: taking up space, mood swings, making a ruckus etc.
It didn’t take deep inquiry with safeguarding to know this child wasn’t getting enough sleep or enough to eat on a regular basis. They would often come to school late, pallid and lethargic, as would their sibling. It broke my heart to present them with work everyday knowing their base needs weren’t met. So instead, I dropped the curriculum and saw about getting him some breakfast one day.
Luckily, another member of staff was OK with me using their bread and jam to make some toast in the mornings. The change was instantaneous – more energy, more room to think and so much calmer. This helped develop some sense of safety, when they didn’t have much at home at all – often talking about arguments and rats in their bedroom.
This is just one story of a few in my experience, I’ve been no stranger to comforting a crying, special needs toddler who’s still hungry after they’ve eaten everything in their packed lunch. When the toast and jam runs out it’s then an individual person’s responsibility to pick up more out of their own scarce pocket. When a packed lunch isn’t ideal, it falls to the parent to somehow purchase, prepare and pack a fresh, nutritious packed lunch every morning before they are forced to go to work.
This creates a cycle of demonised parents and overstressed teaching staff. Somehow the government expects children to pick up seven hours of information after being sent hungry to school everyday. That’s why we call for universal free school meals and for them to be extended into school holidays. Economic struggle does not end after a term has finished. Free school meals for all, all year round!
