Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children entitled to free school meals were not provided with a meal or its equivalent when their school was closed due to adverse weather conditions in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Schools have a duty to provide Free School Meals (FSM) for registered pupils, either on school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. If the school is closed due to extreme weather and/or extenuating circumstances, and education is not being provided for pupils elsewhere, then the school would not be expected to provide free school meals.
Where meals are provided, our guidance advises schools to work with their school catering team or food provider to provide good quality lunch parcels. Where this is not practicable, schools may make local arrangements to supply vouchers.
The Department does not keep records of which schools make meal or voucher provision during periods of closure, nor the number of pupils supported under such arrangements.
Around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through UIFSM policy, over one third of school children are now provided with a free meal, at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The department currently has generous protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances improve.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the schools in England that had days of closure due to weather conditions in the last 12 months provided vouchers to replace Free School Meals to their pupils.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Schools have a duty to provide Free School Meals (FSM) for registered pupils, either on school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. If the school is closed due to extreme weather and/or extenuating circumstances, and education is not being provided for pupils elsewhere, then the school would not be expected to provide free school meals.
Where meals are provided, our guidance advises schools to work with their school catering team or food provider to provide good quality lunch parcels. Where this is not practicable, schools may make local arrangements to supply vouchers.
The Department does not keep records of which schools make meal or voucher provision during periods of closure, nor the number of pupils supported under such arrangements.
Around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through UIFSM policy, over one third of school children are now provided with a free meal, at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The department currently has generous protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances improve.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools in England have a voucher system in operation that can be used to replace free school meals in the event of unexpected school closure.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Schools have a duty to provide Free School Meals (FSM) for registered pupils, either on school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. If the school is closed due to extreme weather and/or extenuating circumstances, and education is not being provided for pupils elsewhere, then the school would not be expected to provide free school meals.
Where meals are provided, our guidance advises schools to work with their school catering team or food provider to provide good quality lunch parcels. Where this is not practicable, schools may make local arrangements to supply vouchers.
The Department does not keep records of which schools make meal or voucher provision during periods of closure, nor the number of pupils supported under such arrangements.
Around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through UIFSM policy, over one third of school children are now provided with a free meal, at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The department currently has generous protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances improve.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many school days in England were lost in the last 12 months due to school closures caused by adverse weather conditions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The requested information is not held by the department. Data on sessions missed due to exceptional circumstances is collected, but it is not possible to determine which were missed as a result of adverse weather conditions.