There are still children who come from low-income families going to school everyday. And most of these kids do not pack lunches or snacks with them.
According to school heads, these children are missing out on free school meals. These school heads go on to say that free meals will help children.
Teachers are requesting for a program to make sure children who come from low-income families are going to be eligible to avail of free school lunches or meals, cites BBC. According to the National Association of Head Teachers, parents sometimes are unable to apply for the meals of their kids.
Low-income families or parents have to apply for free meals in order for their kids to get fed. But this is only open to the most disadvantaged groups. But although all of the kids were eligible, some families or parents stopped informing schools about their condition.
According to reports, the registration for free meals have decreased from sixty percent in 2014 to 28 percent in 2016.
To ensure that this is not limited and to ensure families do not stop informing the school or forget to apply, the National Association of Head Teachers wants MPs to add a clause on auto-registration to a bill being debated on Monday. The clause will ensure that kids are going to get the support that they need, from education to nutrition, says Russell Hobby, the NAHT's general secretary.
Kids would get free meals from Year 1 to Year 2 but when they get to Year 3, they start missing out on the free meals. They are also missing out on the educational funds that are linked to the registered meals.
The auto-registration clause hopes to eliminate these unfortunate circumstances. The clause will automatically inform the school about the situation of the student. The decrease in registration is alarming. Tony Draper, the head of Water Hall Primary School, says that the auto registration clause will be a big help to these kids and their families.
