New Research Confirms Issue of School Meal Debt in England
OCTOBER 7, 2O25
New research from Aberlour Children’s charity confirms that school meal debt is an issue for many children and families across schools in England. As a result of this research, the influential charity is now calling on the UK Government to recognise school meal debt as an indication of financial hardship for families and include clear actions in the upcoming child poverty strategy to end school meal debt and hidden school hunger.
The research was conducted across three council areas. It asked schools about the number of pupils and families in debt, the value of debt, school debt recovery practices, support for families and, critically, if children were still able to eat at school if in debt. Many schools and councils reported that they did not know the level of debt and how many children and families were impacted.
Of those schools which did reply and provided information, showing how many children and their families were in debt, the research found that 23.1% of pupils from these schools, minus those eligible for free school meals, were in debt.
Most schools were supportive of families, but many schools made pupils bring in packed lunches if in debt, which, alongside so-called cashless pre-paid payment systems, raises concerns about the potential for hidden hunger in schools.
A tiny number of schools also reported that they were prepared to take punitive measures to recover debt, including using debt collection agencies.
Many schools simply did not know about debt and/or did not collect the information, with many stating that it was the responsibility of the third party catering provider to do so, which raises concerns that debt is much more widespread than some schools reported in this research.
The total value of debt, based on figures provided by 47 schools, was £66,000, an average of £1400 per school. If this average was replicated across England, the total debt across state schools in England would be £28 million.
Aberlour have made a series of recommendations to the UK Government, including the creation of a fund, just like the one recently introduced in Scotland, that schools can draw upon to underwrite school meal debt.
Responding to the report, the Chief Executive of Aberlour Children’s Charity, SallyAnn Kelly, said: “This research builds on the work we have done in Scotland in relation to school meal debt. Establishing, just as we did in Scotland, that school meal debt is an issue in England we believe necessitates action by the UK Government to support pupils, families and schools.
“School meal debt places pressure on children and families, which ultimately has the very real potential to impact the well-being and life chances of those impacted. In conducting this research we have found that too many schools and councils simply do not know about school meal debt or the impact it is having.
“The research also found that there is no overarching set of guidelines available to schools to help how they support children and families who find themselves in debt and how debt is recovered.
“At Aberlour we believe that no child should be punished for finding themselves in debt and because of the economic circumstances of their parents. They should always be fed and when at schools and we must always, as a society, ensure our children are properly fed to help children get the best possible chance to successfully pursue their education.
“We hope that the Government pays close attention to this research, includes clear actions in the upcoming child poverty strategy to end school meal debt and hidden school hunger and introduces all the recommendations we have made that would help all those children and their families currently struggling with school meal debt.”
Key recommendations
- Recognise school meal debt as an indication of financial hardship for families and include clear actions in the upcoming child poverty strategy to tackle and end school meal debt and hidden school hunger.
- Create a school meal debt fund, resembling the Scottish fund, which could be drawn on by schools to help pay for school meal debt, therefore assisting schools and their pupils and their families who are in debt.
- Widen the eligibility criteria for free school meals to all low income families.
- Create a general code of conduct/charter for schools about their support for families in debt and ensure that every child receives a meal at school, including those who are in debt.
- Introduce compulsory reporting of school meal debt by schools and third party providers.
- End punitive debt recovery practices.
- Create a National Reporting Mechanism.
- Place conditions on procurement and apply compulsory supportive debt recovery practices on third party providers contracted to provide school meals.
- Introduce national school meal debt guidelines to ensure local authorities, schools and third party providers respond to school meal debt in a consistent way that meets the needs, upholds the rights and supports the welfare of children, young people, and their families.
Commenting on the report, anti-poverty campaigning MP Ian Byrne said: “This important report raises serious concerns about school meal debt and the significant impact this chronically under-reported issue has on children, families, and schools. The government should carefully consider its findings and take all necessary steps to ensure that every child regardless of their circumstances or any existing debt is properly fed at school.”
Read the report School Meal Debt in England here and the summary here.
Image: Source: Lunch i Skolan: Overall. Author: Casey Lehman from Häljarp, Sweden, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
OCTOBER 7, 2O25
New research from Aberlour Children’s charity confirms that school meal debt is an issue for many children and families across schools in England. As a result of this research, the influential charity is now calling on the UK Government to recognise school meal debt as an indication of financial hardship for families and include clear actions in the upcoming child poverty strategy to end school meal debt and hidden school hunger.
The research was conducted across three council areas. It asked schools about the number of pupils and families in debt, the value of debt, school debt recovery practices, support for families and, critically, if children were still able to eat at school if in debt. Many schools and councils reported that they did not know the level of debt and how many children and families were impacted.
Of those schools which did reply and provided information, showing how many children and their families were in debt, the research found that 23.1% of pupils from these schools, minus those eligible for free school meals, were in debt.
Most schools were supportive of families, but many schools made pupils bring in packed lunches if in debt, which, alongside so-called cashless pre-paid payment systems, raises concerns about the potential for hidden hunger in schools.
A tiny number of schools also reported that they were prepared to take punitive measures to recover debt, including using debt collection agencies.
Many schools simply did not know about debt and/or did not collect the information, with many stating that it was the responsibility of the third party catering provider to do so, which raises concerns that debt is much more widespread than some schools reported in this research.
The total value of debt, based on figures provided by 47 schools, was £66,000, an average of £1400 per school. If this average was replicated across England, the total debt across state schools in England would be £28 million.
Aberlour have made a series of recommendations to the UK Government, including the creation of a fund, just like the one recently introduced in Scotland, that schools can draw upon to underwrite school meal debt.
Responding to the report, the Chief Executive of Aberlour Children’s Charity, SallyAnn Kelly, said: “This research builds on the work we have done in Scotland in relation to school meal debt. Establishing, just as we did in Scotland, that school meal debt is an issue in England we believe necessitates action by the UK Government to support pupils, families and schools.
“School meal debt places pressure on children and families, which ultimately has the very real potential to impact the well-being and life chances of those impacted. In conducting this research we have found that too many schools and councils simply do not know about school meal debt or the impact it is having.
“The research also found that there is no overarching set of guidelines available to schools to help how they support children and families who find themselves in debt and how debt is recovered.
“At Aberlour we believe that no child should be punished for finding themselves in debt and because of the economic circumstances of their parents. They should always be fed and when at schools and we must always, as a society, ensure our children are properly fed to help children get the best possible chance to successfully pursue their education.
“We hope that the Government pays close attention to this research, includes clear actions in the upcoming child poverty strategy to end school meal debt and hidden school hunger and introduces all the recommendations we have made that would help all those children and their families currently struggling with school meal debt.”
Key recommendations
- Recognise school meal debt as an indication of financial hardship for families and include clear actions in the upcoming child poverty strategy to tackle and end school meal debt and hidden school hunger.
- Create a school meal debt fund, resembling the Scottish fund, which could be drawn on by schools to help pay for school meal debt, therefore assisting schools and their pupils and their families who are in debt.
- Widen the eligibility criteria for free school meals to all low income families.
- Create a general code of conduct/charter for schools about their support for families in debt and ensure that every child receives a meal at school, including those who are in debt.
- Introduce compulsory reporting of school meal debt by schools and third party providers.
- End punitive debt recovery practices.
- Create a National Reporting Mechanism.
- Place conditions on procurement and apply compulsory supportive debt recovery practices on third party providers contracted to provide school meals.
- Introduce national school meal debt guidelines to ensure local authorities, schools and third party providers respond to school meal debt in a consistent way that meets the needs, upholds the rights and supports the welfare of children, young people, and their families.
Commenting on the report, anti-poverty campaigning MP Ian Byrne said: “This important report raises serious concerns about school meal debt and the significant impact this chronically under-reported issue has on children, families, and schools. The government should carefully consider its findings and take all necessary steps to ensure that every child regardless of their circumstances or any existing debt is properly fed at school.”
Read the report School Meal Debt in England here and the summary here.
Image: Source: Lunch i Skolan: Overall. Author: Casey Lehman from Häljarp, Sweden, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
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