andyjolley.bsky.social
Evidence based school meals campaigner & former School Governor
TBI survivor
Interests include Education, Social Justice & Concussion in Rugby
1,676 posts
605 followers
657 following
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Active Commenter
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It appears the decision has been made
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Surely you understand that FSM is separate from the 2 child cap?
I hate the 2child limit, I think it drives poverty
But no one has any though the government would limit FSM
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This is nonsense
Unless the meals are nutritional, good quality and attractive enough to be actually eaten by children, these benefits simply won’t happen
You need to stop getting the same tired propaganda from the same cabal of characters
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I’ll bet the school leaders don’t even know what’s happening and it’s just an old habit
But there really is no excuse
DfE could sort it out in a stroke by asking all governing bodies to check their systems to ensure FSM pupils aren’t identified
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Universal FSM is a nice idea, but it’s just not a priority
There are so many better, more impactful way for DfE to spend its money
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The usual suspects
The same voices (funded by the same organisation) all saying the same things
Would be nice if you gave more weight to the views of school leaders and school chefs
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In what is otherwise a good and positive message, @barbscrowther.bsky.social continued use of the discredited claim “Just 2% of packed lunches meet school food standards” does her a disservice
Also where do you think DfE should cut in order to find the extra money needed?
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An issue could arise from the extension of Free School Meals: many councils use large portions of their HSF funding to automatically provide vouchers to FSM-eligible families in the school holidays. So more children getting FSMs could mean that HSF funds for other needs will be squeezed.
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I was referring to Universal free school meals
This is the IFS
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And ultimately this government is not going to implement ubi, realistically nor will the next, so we have to work with what we have
And a policy that mainly benefits middle and high income households isn’t a priority
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The differences in Welfare and taxation between the UK and US make it incredibly difficult to make true comparisons about the second of policies
Same with people pointing to Sweden, the systems are so complex, it is impossible to single out and transfer one aspect
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Alternatively, we could give every child from a family with low incomes a free meal in school and let better off parents pay for their child’s food?
Save the middle man, cut out the admin
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When you’ve had your revolution & sorted out SEND funding, teacher recruitment, class sizes, the high needs deficit, school buildings that are literally collapsing & CAMHS
And that’s before I mention addressing child poverty
Once they’re all sorted, come back to me about feeding wealthier kids
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“no money is a myth” is just silly
No serious economist or politician thinks we can just jump into Murphy & McDonald’s “print money & be damned” ideology
It’s no different to Truss & her nonsense & is not going to happen anytime soon
With limited resources, we need to make choices & prioritise
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I’m not averse to ubi or universal FSM
BUT it’s not a priority
Whilst there are so many struggling in poverty, so many issues in education needing funding, I just don’t see how we justify spending so much on wealthier families
We should spend limited resources on targeted support
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I’m interested to know which bit you think I’m wrong on? Admin Costs? Universal being regressive & benefiting middle & high incomes?
And it’s not like the NHS where the counter factual is people are ill & die
Children not on FSM don’t starve, most pay for their meals or have a packed lunch
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I know universal FSM is an attractive popularist policy
But it’s phenomenally expensive and has few if any benefits
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I’m not averse to changing the tax system
But universal FsM is the most regressive policy imaginable
We give Free food support to low income families, but with universal FsM we expect those same low income households to subsidise free food for the children of middle & high earners
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The universal systems are not “easier to administer”
We still need to identify children from low income households and provide them with extra support
All the universal systems in the UK still run the same FSM identification processes
It’s NOT cheaper
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Things are very different in schools nowadays
Most schools use cashless systems like cards, wristbands or biometrics that don’t identify who pays & who doesn’t
We can address FSM stigma without universality
Incidentally, the biggest beneficiaries of universal FSm are middle & high earners
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To lift the funding to £3.18, a level seen by school caterers as the minimum required, would cost around £1 Billion* over the next 3 years
Coincidentally it’s similar price tag to the big announcement on expanding eligibility
*60p x 190 x 3m (a rough estimate of FSM + UIFSM going forward)
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I’m all for expanding eligibility… But Millions?
Has your enthusiasm overshadowed your grasp of numbers?
Is that really what the briefing notes say?
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The two-child limit must be scrapped as quickly as possible.
👥 Better connecting communities, providing affordable housing and breaking down barriers to employment are also measures that will reduce poverty.
The end result could be a Wales free from hardship and hunger.
5/6
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But that mechanism only works if the meals are nutritious and being consumed by pupils
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Worth noting within the FSM announcement was an urgent update of the School food standards, we should expect increase costs
It’s also likely Pupil Premium will see big changes, perhaps go & be replaced by increased deprivation payments in the NFF
And there’s universal FSM
All impact in med term
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Can I ask if you feel the same approach should apply to Free School Meals?
If not, why not?
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I agree wholeheartedly on the second part of the substack (no spoilers from me)
But FSM policy is a mess, Transitional protections & an incredibly low eligibility threshold meant some correction needed to happen
The costs are unsustainable
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I’m a strong supporter of FSM, but I’m also an advocate for cash first policies
The issue I’ve been struggling with of late is the quality & healthiness of food served in schools
If it’s not particularly nutritious & children aren’t eating it, what’s the point?