The distressing reports of widespread hunger in classrooms come as Lib Dem analysis found that more than 100,000 children in England could be missing out on Free School Meals (FSM) because the income eligibility ceiling has been frozen for four years, at a time when costs have skyrocketed. “The Government is secretly grabbing lunches from children,” said Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman, who argued that if the £7,400 threshold for household incomes were to rise in line with inflation, it would now be set to £8,575, making up to 110,000 more children eligible. School leaders say they are shocked by the pitifully packed lunches they see in classrooms as desperate parents struggle to feed their children. One student brought a cup of leftover plain rice and another brought nothing but a small tub of dry breakfast cereal. Others come to school with a bar of chocolate after their parents give them a pound to buy something for lunch, while many from low-income families arrive at class tired and lethargic because their stomachs are empty. “I’ve been in education now since 2006 and I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Sarah Livesey, headteacher at Oasis Academy Leesbrook in Oldham, Greater Manchester. “We are in the worst situation we have ever been in. Even with Covid, I think this is our most difficult moment.” Livesey’s school is in an area with some of the highest levels of deprivation in the country. Some families are newly arrived asylum seekers for whom language and internet access are barriers to applying for free school meals. Others are on universal credit and struggling to make ends meet but still don’t qualify for FSMs. “Some of our families will sacrifice their own meals to make sure their kids can eat,” Livesey said. “Some find it difficult to provide breakfast, so we provide breakfast to all our children.” Kids arrive early for the free, all-you-can-eat breakfast with the hungriest students devouring three bowls of cereal and two bagels. “So if they’re not eligible for free school meals and their packed lunch isn’t as substantial as we’d like, at least they have a decent breakfast,” Livesey said. Jamie Oliver and Marcus Rashford are among a growing list of celebrities campaigning for wider access to free school meals, with former One Direction singer Zayn Malik the latest. He relied on free school meals as a child growing up in Bradford and is now an ambassador for the Food Foundation, supporting the Feed the Future campaign which would extend free meals to 800,000 children from families on benefits who do not qualify. In England, children from reception to year two of primary school receive universal free school meals. The Scottish and Welsh governments have gone further and committed to making it available to all primary school pupils. According to the Liberal Democrats, new figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions show that 1.07 million children aged 5-16 in England live in households below the current income ceiling of £7,400 after tax and benefits, but had adjusted for inflation 1.18 million children would be below the threshold. “Every year ministers stick to this harsh policy, thousands of children in hard-working families, struggling to make ends meet, lose out,” Wilson said. “The threshold freeze is morally, economically and politically bankrupt, trapping families in poverty as the cost of living crisis bites.” The Department of Education has been contacted for comment. School leaders say parents aren’t just struggling to feed their children. Keeping the school uniform clean is also a challenge, as some students arrive with wet blazers because it is too cold at home to dry the clothes after washing them. Teachers discreetly remove wet clothing and dry it during the school day. At OA Leesbrook, there are industrial-sized washing machines available for parents who need them, regular morning coffee for warmth, a cup of tea and a biscuit, and English and cooking classes to help parents support their families. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Elsewhere, teachers said some parents find it difficult to raise their children in substandard housing. At an Oldham primary school, a mother who had reported a mouse infestation was sent to accident and emergency by school staff after her baby was bitten on the ear and hand while the family slept. Meanwhile, head lice are rampant because parents can’t afford to buy chemical treatments. Greg Oates, headteacher at Beever Primary School in Oldham since 2001, said: “The vast majority of our children qualify for free school meals and many of the children who are not on FSM are very, very close to the limit. Graphic “We make the kids go to school, maybe they don’t eat breakfast. Sometimes the takeaways are a bit sparse – there aren’t many. “We have seen many times a child opens his meal and the bread is moldy. Parents try to make a loaf last as long as possible. We tracked it down and took it and gave them a school dinner. I’d like everyone to have access to school dinners and I’d like school dinners to be much better funded.” With costs rising, the cost of a school meal has risen from £2.50 a day to £2.70. In the past parents were owed money for lunches, so the school is now more proactive in trying to ensure parents are not late. “In the past we had to write things off. We just had to shoulder the cost of that as a school.” Oates remembers a time when there was more funding available, when children’s centers and early intervention made a difference to vulnerable people in the community where he works, with children seeing school nurses and being referred to specialists where needed. Things have changed. “What we’re seeing is the elimination of public services,” Oates said. “As a school we have become the focal point for everything. We go far above what should be the mission for a school. To me it’s a symptom of how society is breaking down.” Stephen Morgan, the shadow schools secretary, accused the government of “abandoning families” and pledged a Labor administration would fund free school breakfasts for primary school pupils. “The ongoing scandal of so many children coming to school hungry is the grim real effect of the Tories crashing the economy,” Morgan said. Amanda Chadderton, leader of Oldham council, said: “Food poverty is at crisis levels for many people in Oldham. For some children, free school meals are the only hot meal they get during the day and the very thought of school holidays sends parents into a panic. “When I became leader of Oldham council I made children and young people one of my top priorities, along with tackling the cost of living crisis. “But whatever we do, it’s unlikely to be enough. That’s why, on behalf of the people of Oldham, I’m urging the incoming government to do more to help our children and parents struggling with food poverty and prevent more families from falling into food poverty.”
