Amongst the commentary on the first Labour budget in 14 years, a lot has been made of the Chancellor’s admiration for Ellen Wilkinson, the Minister for Education in the 1945 Labour government of Clement Attlee.
Many know that Wilkinson was responsible for implementing the 1944 Education Act, ensuring that for the first time, secondary education was free and universally available to every single child in the country. Fewer are aware of Wilkinson’s absolute commitment to every child in school being provided with a free and suitably nutritious school lunch.
Sadly however, the pioneering introduction of universal free school meals did not last long after Wilkinson’s untimely death in office in 1947. The Chancellor has hinted at Wilkinson’s legacy work by beginning to provide money for free breakfast clubs – a fantastic commitment to universal provision to all state primary school children; but we have to be more ambitious for children in our society.
While Labour’s commitment to not raise taxes on “working people” has been maximally scrutinised, other promises such as the manifesto commitment to raise “the healthiest generation of children ever” currently risk being largely forgotten. Universal Primary breakfast clubs are a positive start, but it will always be the case that all children need to be properly fed at lunchtime too. The evidence is clear: hungry children do not learn. The research has shown time and time again that good food throughout the school day improves children’s health, attainment and wellbeing.
Much hope for the younger generation now lies in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy, currently being drafted by both the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions, and is due to be published in the Spring. The strategy will cover many areas affecting children’s chances to flourish, but a key part must be to tackle the shameful reality of widespread malnutrition amongst children across the country. This includes both undernutrition from deficiencies of key nutrients and overnutrition caused by unhealthy cheaper food which can lead to obesity. As recommended by a report from the House of Lords last month, providing nutritious hot school lunches for as many children as possible, when all pupils are present in school, is a key part of achieving this.
In the shorter term, the Government also has a real opportunity to make progress (and headlines) at pace: The Children’s Wellbeing Bill is expected in parliament before Christmas, heralding in universal primary school breakfast clubs. While the main thrust of this Bill is unlikely to change at this stage, tweaks can still be made to maximise impact, and value for money.
Firstly, the government should use the Children’s Wellbeing Bill to introduce nationwide monitoring to make sure both school breakfasts and lunches are as tasty, sustainable and healthy as possible, reflecting the latest dietary guidance. Amazingly, a nationwide monitoring system does not already exist. Many school caterers have shown they can produce genuinely delicious and nutritious food on a budget, but there are too many children in our country being served food of frankly shameful quality. Even from the vantage point of the Treasury, better school food means both better health and better education outcomes, and thus better value for money.
Secondly, the government must introduce auto-enrolment for all children who should get a free meal at lunchtime. At present, an estimated 470,000 children in England are missing out on the free school meal they’re entitled to. This might be because of language, or academic barriers parents face when applying for their child’s free school meals – or because of the stigma associated with applying. By introducing auto-enrolment, there would be no extra application process, and children would automatically get the food to which they’re entitled. It’s perfectly possible to do, and as free school meals is a statutory scheme, it should already be budgeted for.
Thirdly, the Bill must give a legal footing to the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which is soon due to come to an end. The programme ensures children from the lowest income households can stay well-fed during the school holidays. The programme was expanded following campaigning by Marcus Rashford, but it now needs to be made permanent.
If Rachel Reeves was seeking to truly honour her political hero, there would be no more fitting way to do it than improving the school food system for all, just as Ellen Wilkinson did eighty years ago. The Treasury knows we need to boost investment in our economy – there is no better place to start than investing in our children’s future.
The School Food Review is a coalition of organisations spanning charities, educational organisations, caterers, unions and academics, committed to working together to improve children’s health by reforming the school food system.
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