Urswick School in Hackney is officially the most disadvantaged school in London. About 65% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (FSM), but for the past eight years the school has provided all pupils with a free meal, including those in the sixth form. It was launched after a successful Ofsted inspection when the school celebrated with free burgers for everyone. “It was a great event,” Brown said. “I saw kids coming in for lunch who had never seen lunch before. Much to my surprise, it wasn’t about the burgers, it was the fact that food was free that day for everyone. “For the vast majority, they didn’t come for lunch because they couldn’t afford it, not because they didn’t like the food. So I went to the governors and proposed that we do a universal offering to give every child a free school meal.” The governors agreed, the policy was implemented and has been in place ever since. On the menu on the day the Guardian visited was chicken curry with rice and peas or Quorn stew with rice. There were four choices of sandwiches – sausage, chicken and mayo, tuna and cheese. The pudding was raspberry yoghurt, with juice and bottled water to drink. All for free. “We think the benefit is huge,” Brown said. “I think kids are more likely to attend knowing they’re getting a free meal every day. We definitely have a lot of acceptance in after school clubs and classes because the kids have been fed at lunch. They don’t go home or go to the chicken shop. “I can’t quantify its impact on exam results, but we can measure with soft indicators. We are a thriving, happy community, with good relations between people. If we always talk to children about equality, we can put equality at the heart of the school by giving every child a free school meal independently. That is why the ethos of this school is so strong. I think it contributes massively to our sense of happiness as a school.” Richard Brown, headteacher at Urswick School, believes pupils are more likely to attend school knowing they are getting a free lunch every day. Photo: Martin Godwin/The Guardian For Brown, the cost of providing a free lunch for all pupils at his school in east London is less than it would be at many other schools because many of his pupils are already eligible and the school provides funding for them. It pays for the extra meals, which cost the school £80,000 to £100,000 a year, through leases – renting out parking and sports facilities – which is not available to all schools. But he says economies of scale and certainty about demand mean it’s not as expensive as it would otherwise be. 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. “Rental income has covered the costs, but there are other ways to generate money. If I thought I should, I would ask for support from charities. It is important to us. I’m sure there are things that other schools could do to avoid hungry children, which seems to me to be the first moral imperative, along with protecting them.” Food poverty has led teachers at Ark Elvin Academy in Brent to go the extra mile, offering evening meals to pupils and their families in partnership with a local food bank. Rebecca Curtis, director of Ark Elvin, said: “At the start of the term, I was struck by the level of need in the community and we feared how much worse things could get in the winter months. We started thinking about how we could use the school space, not only to provide a hot meal and a warm place, but also to break the isolation that many people in our community have experienced since the Covid pandemic.” With more than one in three pupils at the academy eligible for free school meals, Curtis said even one night a week could make a big difference to struggling families and approached food bank and kitchen Sufra in north-west London. The school provides the facilities and staff for the weekly meals, while Sufra organizes the food and cooking, with funding from the Raheem Sterling Foundation, the charity set up by the Chelsea and England footballer who is a former pupil and grew up at a nearby council. estate. Community nights started earlier this month. Fahim Dahya, Sufra’s director of logistics and facilities, said the first night was a success, with almost 100 people coming along, despite the event only being advertised to families at Ark Elvin and two local primary schools. “We expected small numbers, but it was full. It shows that it was the right thing, that there is a need, that people want it and will come,” said Dayha. Curtis said the dinners could become a community event, not just for families connected to the school, but for those in need, including the many refugees housed in nearby hotels. And she hoped to expand the evenings to include homework clubs, tutoring and other support for families. “What the pandemic has shown is that if schools are properly funded, we can do a lot more. Our families trust us because they see us every day,” Curtis said. Dahya said Ark Elvin’s experience could be a model for other schools across the country. “I want this to be a plan not just for Brent but for the wider national community. If we can achieve this in one school, imagine what we can do in more schools if schools can open their doors one night a week.”
