All primary pupils in Wales will be offered free school meals in Wales from the start of term next week. The Welsh Government has confirmed that all 22 local education authorities are either already providing, or ready to offer, free school meals for their pupils
Universal free school meals for primary school-aged children in Wales started with the youngest pupils in September, 2022. Some councils made the offer well ahead of the target date of September, 2024.
All primary school children and more than 6,000 nursery-age pupils attending a maintained school will be eligible for the free school meals. The introduction of universal free school meals for this age group was part of the now ditched Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru. Join our WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone.
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Councils have spent millions of pounds upgrading school kitchens to serve tens of thousands of meals across primaries. Some were ahead of others but now children in every part of Wales should get the same school meal offer. But not everyone is happy. The official tasked with championing children’s rights says pupils have told her that free school meal portions aren’t big enough and fruit and vegetables aren’t always available.
In a survey earlier this year Children’s Commissioner Rocio Cifuentes said hundreds of children aged seven to 18 across Wales found the most common complaint was that portions were too small and you can read more about that here.
With the cost-of-living crisis continuing many children rely on school lunch as their most important, or only meal of the day, poverty and children’s campaigners have warned. Teachers have also long warned that increasing numbers of children are coming to school hungry and cannot concentrate in lessons.
There is also concern among secondary school leaders that the offer of free school meals has not been extended to older children. Some schools, including Monmouth High and St Martin’s School n Caerphilly, have funded their own free breakfasts before lessons start.
Announcing the free meals rolling out in its primaries next week, Swansea Council stressed the importance of food for the least well off children. The council said more than 18,000 pupils in the city would benefit which it said was “helping all families with the cost-of-living”.
More than £4m has been invested in improving and equipping school kitchens in Swansea alone. The city’s cabinet member for education, Robert Smith, said: “The cost-of-living crisis means the Welsh Government’s Free School Meal pledge is more important than ever and I’m grateful to ministers for the funding that is being provided to enable us to deliver this.
“A lot of investment, work and planning has been needed to get the capacity in place to deliver this to all primary school pupils and I’m very proud that we have been able to meet the Welsh Government’s target. Universal free school meals for primary-aged children mean one less thing for hard-pressed families to worry about and ensures that all pupils receive a cooked meal when in school should they wish.”
Families do not need to apply for the school meal offer as they will be automatically enrolled at their school. Low income families can also apply for the Schools Essentials Grant to help with costs for school uniform costs, equipment and activities.
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “All primary school pupils will have access to a free school meal from the start of term.”
