The government has announced it will extend the provision of free school meals to include all pupils whose household is on Universal Credit. The expansion will come into effect from the start of the 2026 school year.

The extension will see over half a million more children benefit from a free nutritious meal every school day.

Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty have been unable to access them.

The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) has welcomed the expansion. As a supporter of the Free School Meals for All campaign, the society has long been an advocator of free school meals for all primary school children in the UK.

However, whilst the announcement is a huge step in the right direction, the society has said there is still more to be done. The expansion does not cover every child in primary education and means-testing still leaves far too many pupils behind. As part of the Free School Meals for All coalition, the BSPD continues to campaign for hot school dinners for all primary school children, nationwide.

Shannu Bhatia, BSPD president, said, “The BSPD is delighted to hear today’s announcement from the government that will see more primary school children across the UK being entitled to receive free school meals. We know that ensuring every child gets the best start in life, and the nutrition they need is pivotal to their learning.

“As the UK’s society dedicated to improving the oral health and wellbeing of children, we welcome this progress but importantly we remain committed to pushing for this provision to cover all primary children.”

Daniel Kebede, general secretary for the National Education Union, said, “The National Education Union is proud to have stood side by side with the BSPD to demand that no child goes hungry in school. Our members know the importance a hot, healthy school lunch makes – not just on children’s experience of education but on their oral health and wellbeing. Working together, we have achieved a huge win for our campaign to ensure no child is left behind and that so many thousands of families will now benefit from this roll out.”

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