Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve educational outcomes for boys with free school meal eligibility.

​Too many children are held back by their background. The Opportunity Mission will break the link between background and future success.

Schools receive the pupil premium grant, worth over £3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. Pupil premium eligibility includes pupils who have been recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM) within the past six years.

​Our Child Poverty Strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. This includes the expansion of FSM which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament and put £500 back in families’ pockets. Providing over half a million disadvantaged children with a free lunchtime meal will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes.

Additionally, we are driving standards in every school through regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, a refreshed high-quality curriculum and assessment system, and recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers.

However, we know that there is further work to do, which is why, through our schools white paper, we will build a school system that drives educational excellence for every child, regardless of background or circumstance.