Devon to see 1,300 more children get free school meals

Miles DavisDevon political reporterPA MediaMore kids are getting free faculty meals after councils switched to auto-enrolmentAbout 1,300 kids in Devon are actually getting free faculty meals who weren’t beforehand entitled to them.Devon County Council and Torbay Council have modified the principles so households who’re entitled to free faculty meals routinely get them with out having to use.The rise within the variety of kids who’re eligible additionally brings with it further “pupil premium” funding that can be utilized to offer extra help for pupils from deprived backgrounds.Cornwall Council agreed to introduce the identical scheme from September 2026 and mentioned it believed it may have an effect on about 1,800 kids, whereas Plymouth Metropolis Council mentioned it was additionally trying into the potential for making the change.The variety of kids getting free faculty meals within the Devon County Council space has doubled since 2017The proportion of kids receiving free faculty meals within the Devon County Council space has risen steadily from 9.6% in 2016/17 to simply beneath 20% by 2023/24.In the mean time, a family should earn lower than £7,400 a 12 months to qualify at no cost faculty meals.Devon County Council mentioned it was the primary county council within the nation to introduce auto-enrolment for pupils whose household earnings made them entitled.The council mentioned there have been now about 21,065 pupils receiving free faculty meals, with a rise of about 1,065 attributable to auto-enrolment.’Unfair hyperlink’The chief of Devon County Council, Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil, mentioned the applying course of at no cost faculty meals had been “a barrier” to some households.He mentioned: “That is a kind of initiatives that makes absolute sense – it is good for pupils and it is good for faculties.”The adjustments have additionally meant that faculties within the Devon County Council space will obtain a further £1.5m, with an additional £1,515 per major pupil and £1,075 per secondary pupil on free faculty meals.Moira Marder is chief government of the Ted Wragg Belief, which has 18 faculties throughout Devon.She mentioned: “The extra pupil premium funding unlocked by this coverage will allow us to supply extra focused interventions and further help to those college students, shifting one step nearer to breaking the unfair hyperlink between drawback, alternative and outcomes.”In accordance with analysis carried out by the charity Finish Youngster Poverty along with Loughborough College, 27% of kids within the south-west of England have been dwelling in poverty in 2023/24.That determine was highest within the Plymouth Sutton and Devonport space – at 35% of kids – and at 32% in Torbay.Sonia Duggan from Motion for Kids mentioned many households have been dealing with very troublesome conditions attributable to the price of dwelling disaster.Sonia Duggan, who works for the charity Motion for Kids in Paignton, welcomed extra childen getting free faculty meals however mentioned many households have been nonetheless struggling to feed themselves.She mentioned: “The auto-enrolment is nice. Nonetheless, it is not going to the touch the floor for a few of our households.”Our households reside in poverty. Every part has elevated – all their payments, gasoline prices, their meals, every thing.”We’ve households which can be working, that can’t afford to feed their kids.”