Pupils on free school meals should get their change

Secondary pupils receiving free school meals should be given their change, Citizens UK has urged, after it was found £65 million was being kept by meal providers each year if un-used.

The charity says that if pupils on free school meals do not use their allowance by the end of the day – because they are absent from school, attending a lunchtime club or they don’t spend the full amount – their credit is deducted and retained by the school meals providers.

As a result a new national campaign called ‘Just Change’ has been launched. Pupils say that if school caterers let them keep their change it would have a hugely positive impact on their ability to learn and participate in school life.

Year 8 pupil campaigning on this from Kenton School (which is campaigning for the system to be changed), said: “Some of our friends said that if they could keep the change they would buy extra food for the mornings for example, if they can’t get breakfast at home. But because they can’t keep the change they can never do that.”

Kath Wade, Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and Just Change Action Team, Tyne & Wear Citizens, said: “It’s simply not right that this is happening. All it requires is a simple change to an IT system to ensure the change from lunch goes to those pupils who need it most. A hungry child can’t concentrate, a child that can’t concentrate can’t learn, and a child that can’t learn can’t reach their full potential. And isn’t that what we all want?”

Since Tyne & Wear Citizens launched the Just Change campaign, two schools have changed their school meals system and returned change to pupils, and three schools have committed to the change.

Maura Regan, CEO of the Carmel Education College Trust, which has changed the free school meals system in three of its schools, said: “In truth we were blissfully ignorant of what was an unintended consequence [of the system]. Because of that, I felt there was a moral imperative to act. It appeared that we were supporting pupils on free school meals, but in reality, we were stifling them and creating difficulties. Once you become aware of something like that it has to become a catalyst for change.”

Regan estimates that a simple, low cost change to her schools I.T system has given back around £17,000 to pupils. She continued: “the bottom line is quite simply that the money wasn’t ours - the money belongs to the children.”