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Offering free school meals to all primary school pupils increased attainment in disadvantaged areas

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Embargo When all primary school pupils in Newham and Durham were offered free school meals, attainment levels rose. Pupils in these areas made between 4 and 8 weeks more progress over a two year period than similar pupils in other areas. That is the main finding of new research published today by a consortium comprising the Institute for Fiscal Studies, NatCen Social Research and Bryson Purdon Social Research. These are significant effects. But the study was not able to show what drove these improvements in attainment. And extending such a policy to all primary school pupils in England could cost around £1 billion per year.1 Commenting on the results, Ellen Greaves, Research Economist at the IFS said: “Providing all primary school pupils in Newham and Durham with free school meals led to improvements in educational attainment in those areas. But this policy would be expensive to roll out and may disproportionately benefit children from middle and higher income families, as children from the poorest families are already entitled to receive free school meals. It is also unclear whether the effects on attainment could be replicated in less deprived areas. Whilst the results are encouraging, there is scope for more research before making a decision to roll out this policy to other areas.”

Immediate release Thursday 26th July 2012

Contacts Educational attainment and take-up: Bonnie Brimstone Institute for Fiscal Studies 020 7291 4800 Diet, health and behaviour: Naomi Joyner Natcen Social Research 020 7549 9565

School meals are currently offered free of charge to children from low income families receiving out-of-work benefits in England. Around 1 in 6 pupils are eligible for free school meals (FSM).2 Two approaches to extending entitlement to FSM were piloted between 2009 and 2011: in Newham and Durham, all primary school pupils were offered FSM, irrespective of family income (universal entitlement); in Wolverhampton, entitlement was extended to all children from low income families in work only (extended entitlement). These changes were accompanied by a range of promotional activities in the pilot areas. Our report evaluates the effect of these changes on pupils’ take-up of school meals, attainment and absence from school, and diet, health and behaviour in the pilot areas. Continues... This assumes that the take-up of school meals would increase to 90% in all local authorities (as it did in Newham and Durham), that the cost per meal is £2 per day, that there are 190 school days per year and that there are just under 4 million pupils in state primary schools in England (as there were in January 2011). The current cost of providing FSM is not included in these figures, i.e. this is the additional cost. 1

Eligible means both entitled (i.e. meet the criteria) and registered as such with their local authority. 2

Director: Paul Johnson Research Director: Richard Blundell

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…continued The results suggest that: 

Universal entitlement to free school meals significantly increased attainment in the pilot areas: relative to a carefully chosen group of similar pupils in non-pilot areas, pupils in Newham and Durham made between four and eight weeks more progress over the two year pilot period than pupils in other areas at Key Stages 1 and 2 (ages 7 and 11).

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By contrast, extending entitlement to free school meals to all pupils from low income families in work, as happened in Wolverhampton, had no significant effect on educational attainment for either primary or secondary school pupils.

The source of the improvements in attainment in Newham and Durham is not clear, however, because the pilot did not appear to reduce absence rates from school; nor did it seem to improve children’s health or parental perceptions of their behaviour. The significant costs associated with such a scheme and this lack of clarity over the routes through which the pilot improved educational attainment suggests that further investigation may be required before deciding whether or not to offer free school meals to all primary school pupils. In addition to the results on educational attainment, the evaluation also found that, relative to a carefully chosen group of similar pupils in non-pilot areas, primary school pupils in Newham and Durham: 

Were significantly more likely to take up school meals: around 9 in 10 pupils in Newham and Durham took at least one school meal per week compared with 6 in 10 pupils in other areas. Moreover, take-up increased even amongst pupils who were already eligible for free school meals (although less so than amongst those who were not eligible).

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Were more likely to eat foods associated with school meals and less likely to eat foods associated with packed lunches; for example, they were more likely to eat chips and less likely to eat crisps at lunchtime.

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Were no less likely to eat a hot meal in the evening than pupils in other areas, despite the fact that they were more likely to eat one at lunchtime.

The extension of entitlement to free school meals in Wolverhampton had few significant benefits for pupils in terms of any of these outcomes.

ENDS Notes to Editors: 1.

2.

The evaluation of the Free School Meal pilot was carried out by a consortium comprising the Institute for Fiscal Studies, NatCen Social Research and Bryson Purdon Social Research on behalf of the Department for Education. The th evaluation reports was published at 00.01 on Thursday 26 July and is available from this website: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/D FE-RR227. Under the current criteria, children whose parents receive one or more of the following support payments are entitled to receive FSM: Income Support;

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Income Based Jobseekers Allowance; an income-related employment and support allowance; support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income, as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, that as of 6 April 2012 does not exceed £16,190; or the guarantee element of State Pension Credit. Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment ceases, or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are entitled to free school lunches. Children who receive a qualifying benefit in their own right are also entitled to receive FSM. 3.

In Wolverhampton, entitlement was extended to cover pupils in primary and secondary schools whose families were claiming Working Tax Credit and whose annual income did not exceed £16,040 in 2009-10 or £16,190 in 2010-11.

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At NatCen Social Research we believe that social research has the power to make life better. By really understanding the complexity of people's lives and what they think about the issues that affect them, we give the public a powerful and influential role in shaping services that can make a difference to everyone. And as an independent, not for profit organisation we're able to focus our time and energy on meeting client's needs and delivering social research that works for society. Find out about the work we do by visiting www.natcen.ac.uk

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Please contact Bonnie Brimstone at IFS (020 7291 4800, [email protected]) if you have any queries about the results on educational attainment or take-up, or Naomi Joyner at NatCen Social Research (020 7549 9550; [email protected]) if you have any queries about the results on diet, health or behaviour.

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