Most parents and carers want the government to extend free school meals to all children in primary state schools in England. A survey found only a quarter (26 per cent) of parents and carers in England said they have not had to cut back on family expenses since the start of the school year, according to a poll commissioned by the National Education Union (NEU).
Among those parents and carers who reported having to make cutbacks, or who said they were struggling financially, more than half (52pc) said they had cut back on the food shop since September. The survey, carried out online by Survation between January and February, found that one in three (33pc) parents and carers struggling with food costs reported having less food or less healthy food in their children’s lunchbox.
The poll, of 1,500 parents and carers with children in primary school, suggests that 41pc of parents in London have had to cut back on the food shop since the start of this school year, compared to 54pc across England. The findings come after free school meals were extended to every primary school…
