Auto-enrol eligible children for free school meals to end ‘postcode lottery’, government told

Accessing free school meals will remain a “postcode lottery” unless the government automatically enrols disadvantaged families, a new report has warned.

Last week, the government extended free school meals to all children from families on universal credit. Charities hailed the policy – which will make half a million additional children eligible from the start of the 2026 school year – as a “game-changer”.

But the next step should include the adoption of an auto-enrolment system for all eligible families, a report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has found.

Previously children were only entitled to free school meals if their household income was less than £7,400 per year.

Prime minister Keir Starmer claimed that the new expansion was a “truly historic moment for our country” and would help ease the “stain” of child poverty, with the government estimating that 100,000 children across England could be completely lifted out of poverty as a consequence.

But some households could still miss out, the EPI has warned. They have called for an auto-enrolment system that would “eliminate” inequalities and ensure all households who could receive free school meals could actually access them.

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The scheme, as the name suggests, would mean that all eligible families would automatically be registered by the government for free school meals, unless they opt out. This is the “most inclusive approach” as it “proactively identifies entitled children without relying on parents sharing details or making an application”. The EPI explained that this could “build on” the “positive announcement” that the government will be expanding the entitlement.

The EPI report found that some families struggle to access the free school meals they are entitled to. This includes children under five years old, as well as asylum-seeking families who have “no recourse to public funds“.

“Where a child lives or goes to school determines how easy or hard it is to register for free school meals – depending on which school and local authority (LA) a child is in, different requirements are put on parents to register,” the report read.

“For example, in some LAs parents are required to make their own application while facing significant barriers, and if found ineligible at the time must reapply when circumstances change; other LAs collect information for all parents and periodically check eligibility for those not already registered so they can be signed up as soon as they become entitled. These differences in registration practices are important because they are likely to lead to inequalities in accessing free school meals.

“Where local auto-enrolment has been implemented by the LA, some have discovered large numbers of previously unregistered children.

“The government must use the opportunity of the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill to create new legislation that enables an auto-enrolment system for families, including for free early years meals, ensuring they have access to the support they are entitled to.”

Auto-enrolment would remove ‘barriers’ to free school meals

Dr Kerris Cooper, senior researcher in early years and inequalities at EPI, described the expansion of free school meals as a “positive step”, but added that “more needs to be done to ensure that all children entitled to free meals can actually access them”.

“First, there are still significant barriers for families to register for free school meals, and where a child lives plays too big a role in their chances of being registered. Second, the youngest children, who face the highest risk of poverty, will not benefit from this expansion in eligibility unless all children attending early education are also included and settings are supported to deliver this,” Dr Cooper explained.

“Introducing national auto-enrolment and including children in early education would enable this expansion in free school meals eligibility to more meaningfully extend access to more children in poverty.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s similarly backed auto-enrolment, explaining that the “stigma” attached to free school meals can deter some families from signing their children up.

“The food we eat as children has a huge impact on our lives. Children who eat a healthy meal at lunchtime are better able to concentrate in lessons, they’re not worried about where their next meal will come from and they have better attendance at school,” Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, told the Big Issue.

“Sadly, this has not been the case for many children growing up in poverty, who weren’t eligible for free school meals despite their families claiming universal credit,” Perry said, adding that the expansion is a “huge step forward” that the charity has “long campaigned for”.

Perry continued: “We’d like to see all children who are eligible for free school meals automatically receiving them – without parents having to fill out complicated forms. Sadly, there can still be stigma attached to receiving free school meals, meaning some parents might not enrol their children.

“Auto-enrolment would remove many of these barriers, so we urge the government to include it in their strategy this autumn.”

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