Special Educational Needs: Free School Meals

Department for Education written question – answered at on 30 November 2020.

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Photo of Tulip Siddiq Tulip Siddiq Shadow Minister (Education)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children with SEND in England who qualify for free school meals; and what steps his Department is taking to address the specific needs of those people.

Photo of Vicky Ford Vicky Ford The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education

The department collects and publishes information on the numbers of children with special educational needs (SEN), which covers all types of SEN. We do not collect data on which pupils have a disability. SEN is the main focus of our data collection and dissemination in relation to children and young people, as our policy is to focus efforts on the impact of conditions (some of which are disabilities) on the educational experience of the individual and how barriers to their learning and participation in education can be removed.

The number of children with SEN in England who qualify for free school meals (FSM) is provided to the department in the school census. The most recent figures are for January 2020 and can be found in the publication ‘SEN in England January 2020’, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.

The continuing provision of FSM to children from households that are out of work or on low incomes is of the utmost importance to the government. FSM are available to families who are in receipt of one or more of the eligible income-related benefits. Further information on the eligibility criteria is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/700139/Free_school_meals_guidance_Apr18.pdf.

We are supporting around 1.4 million of the most disadvantaged children through benefits-related FSM, saving families around £400 a year for each child.

During the current COVID-19 outbreak, schools should work with their existing suppliers to support eligible pupils who need to be at home due to self-isolation through food parcels should the need arise. Further guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

Building on the significant support given to the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has announced a new £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme will be run by councils in England. The funding will be ring-fenced, with at least 80% earmarked to support children and families with food and other essential items, and will cover the period to the end of March 2021.

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