Free school meals auto-enrolment trial announced

The auto-enrolment system will begin in September

Children in Middlesbrough who qualify for free school meals will be automatically enrolled in a pilot scheme from September.

At present families must apply for the meals, meaning some pupils slip through the net.

Under auto-enrolment, parents would remain able to opt out.

Professor Amelia Lake from Teesside University said she "strongly welcomed the move" but said there is more to be done around the issue of vulnerable children going hungry during the school holidays.

Middlesbrough Council made the move after assessing 60 households in the region and discovering 11 qualifying families were missing out on free meals.

Professor Lake said there are numerous reasons why some do not apply for the scheme even when they qualify.

"Some people may potentially not be aware they can enrol," she said.

Being food poor also carries a lot of stigma, she added, and auto-enrolment may help parents overcome this issue.

The scheme would see the council use existing data to confirm eligibility.

In 2023, the Child Poverty Action Group estimated that the free school meal scheme had an under-registration rate of 19% in north east England.

This also means schools are missing out on thousands of pounds of associated funding.

The auto-enrolment pilot scheme will be paid for through the council's public health grant.

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