Willis warns of free school meal “stigma”
A new Liberal Democrat survey has suggested that many children are not taking up free school meals due to a fear of “standing out.”
In a survey of 37 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) the Liberal Democrats found that 70 per cent thought that the take up of free school meals could be improved.
Of those, 73 per cent cited the stigma of receiving the meals as a disincentive to children.
Further, 84 per cent of those authorities use tick lists to identify which children are to receive free meals, demonstrating “a clear link between stigma and method of delivery” according to the Liberal Democrats.
The Lib Dem education spokesman, Phil Willis, said: “With childhood obesity rising, wholesome and nutritious school meals are a great opportunity to get our children’s daily diet back on track.
“At present hundreds of thousands of our poorest children are missing out on that chance.
“Schools and Local Education Authorities with low take up rates must re-think the link between their method of delivering free school meals and the stigma attached to it.”
A Liberal Democrat spokeswoman told politics.co.uk that councils needed to have a fundamental rethink on how receiving free school meals could be made least embarrassing for children.
She said that educational psychologists could be involved to draw up a sensitive approach to engage all children.
Schools potentially could engage in “internal PR” to ensure maximum take up she suggested.
One suggestion being floated by the Liberal Democrats is the introduction of a smart card system to disguise which children receive the free meals.
