London mayor's free meals plan could cost schools £5m - charity

One charity has said the well-meaning plan could see London's primary schools lose out (stock picture)

Dishing out free school meals to London's primary schools could see them lose up to £5m, a charity has claimed.

On Monday, mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled a £130m scheme to ensure all primary school children receive free school meals for the 2023/2024 academic year.

But one charity has warned the move will make it harder for schools to claim pupil premiums for students from lower income families.

The mayor's office said schools would not lose out.

• London Assembly approves free school meals plan

• Mayor to fund free school meals for primary pupils

The mayor claims that the emergency funding will help around 270,000 primary school children and save families in London around £440 per child across the year.

But Steve Haines, the director of public affairs at youth education and employment charity Impetus, told the BBC schools may lose out.

Under current rules schools apply for the pupil premium for each student who is eligible for free meals.

If every student now receives the meals it is feared schools will find it more difficult to know how many pupils are eligible for the extra funding, and could therefore lose out on the money.

"We welcome efforts to tackle this, but we are concerned that the unintended consequence of this important intervention could end up disadvantaging the children who need it the most," Mr Haines said.

Mr Khan allocated £130m towards feeding primary school children in the next academic year

The charity estimated that as a result of the plan, London primary schools could potentially lose out on over £5m of pupil premium funding per year.

"This funding is designed to improve education outcomes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and eligibility for it needs to be decoupled from free school meals if we are to close the attainment gap," he said.

A spokesperson for the mayor said City Hall would be "working closely with boroughs and schools to ensure no schools miss out on pupil premium funding".

"Extra funds have also been allocated as part of the mayor's £130m scheme to take on the rising cost of food and ensure every school has adequate funding to meet the needs of all pupils," they added.

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