Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase uptake of free school meals among eligible children in areas with high levels of (a) child obesity and (b) household food insecurity.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are currently around 2.1 million pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM). The department recognises the vital role played by FSM in supporting disadvantaged children and families and encourages all those who are eligible to take up their entitlement. To make this process as easy as possible, the department provides the Eligibility Checking System, which allows local authorities to quickly verify eligibility for FSM. Further to this, our published guidance on FSM provides clarity to families about whether they may qualify for, and how they may claim their FSM entitlement.
The department is aware of a range of measures aimed at maximising take-up of FSM, including through approaches being trialled by local authorities. We welcome local authorities taking action to ensure government support reaches families, subject to them meeting legal and data-protection requirements.
In addition to this, we are also rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school, so children start the day ready to learn. This is part of the department‘s commitment to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that all children have the freedom to achieve and thrive in education.
The department is also working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop a child poverty strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling its root causes and giving every child the best start in life. The strategy will be published in the spring.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the guidance for schools on transgender pupils will help to ensure that students are protected from transphobic bullying.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is clear that bullying should never be tolerated and is committed to supporting schools to tackle bullying. The Department provides advice for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
Gender is a complex and sensitive issue. That is why the Department is working with the Minister for Women and Equalities to develop guidance to support schools in relation to gender questioning pupils. The Department will publish a draft for consultation later in the summer term.
More widely, the Department is providing over £2 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying.
The Department is also making sure that all children in England will be taught about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and for difference.
All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. The policy should set out the behaviour expected of pupils, the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour, and rewards for good behaviour. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents. This behaviour policy is supported by ‘Respectful School Communities’, a self review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This tool is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/. This can help with combatting bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including hate based bullying.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the affordability of subsidised milk under the School Milk Subsidy Scheme in the context of the increasing cost of living; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that families are able to afford to purchase subsidised milk for their children in schools.
Answered by Will Quince
Milk is an excellent food for children’s growth and development. This is why under the school food standards, schools must ensure it is available to all pupils who want it during school hours. Further guidance on the school food standards can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools.
Lower fat milk or lactose reduced milk must be available for drinking at least once a day during school hours and milk must be provided free of charge to pupils eligible for free school meals. Schools may offer milk as many times as they wish, however it must be free to infant and benefits-based free school meal pupils when it is offered as part of their school meal and free to benefits-based free school meal pupils at all other times.
Where schools provide milk, they can also choose whether to participate in the School Milk Subsidy Scheme which can be used to reduce the cost of the milk. The rate for the subsidy is topped up nationally for pupils in primary education.
Further information about the scheme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-school-milk-subsidy-scheme-guidance.
As announced in the Spring Statement, the government is continuing to provide targeted cost of living support for households most in need. From April 2022, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion.