46.4% of children with Caribbean backgrounds and 61.2% of children with Gypsy backgrounds are eligible for free school meals in England.
high-level ethnic groups all have a higher percentage of children living in low-income households than the national average. This may be, in part, because these ethnic groups have unemployment rates higher than the national average.
In addition, the Black and Mixed ethnic groups were the most likely to have gross household income of less than £400 per week.
Kenika Samuels A Caribbean mother whose child is on free school meals said, “I absolutely think more children should be getting free school meals as you know not all children in need are getting them because they are not meeting the requirements needed”.
Children from ethnic minority groups are significantly more likely to live in low-income households compared to their white and Indian counterparts.
Kenika also said, “a lot of us tend to send money back home to feed more than just our own family, so were proving for more than one household”.
Friends Families and Travellers (FFT) are a leading national charity that seeks to end racism and discrimination against Gypsies, Travellers and Roma and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
They have found that children from Irish traveller backgrounds are over 3 times as likely to be eligible for Free school Meals than White British children.
Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange are a member lead organisation; they aim for Gypsies and Travellers to have the right to a safe and nurturing school environment and to go onto college and university if they choose to.
Charlotte James who is Team Leader at Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange said “There are lots of misunderstandings and lack of knowledge about Gypsies and Travellers so even at young age, you learnt to hide yourself. I felt I didn’t fit in fully and knew I was different from my peers.”
60% of Gypsies and travellers have no formal qualifications as they face significant educational challenges leading to their being a high percentage of children with Gypsy backgrounds being eligible for free school meals.
Department for Education report noted that over 14% of students who are eligible for free school meals are not claiming it.
The biggest reasons for children not claiming free school meals are the fact that parents on Universal credit might be unaware that they are eligible until after they have already made a payment, some parents struggle with the application process due to lack of understanding or language barriers and some families don’t claim due to the stigma associated with free school meals.
Penny Benjamin who was the chair of her school’s PTA said “there’s no doubt about it that the kids that are on lower incomes have a hard time of it, they have poor outcomes academically and it’s just a stress on the family”
Lots of children slightly miss out on free school meals because the eligibility needed for free school meals is based on specific benefits, so some children who are in low-income situations are unable to receive free school meals despite their low-income household.
We are Child friendly Leeds is a city-wide initiative led by Leeds City Council; they are working to create better outcomes for children and young people in Leeds.
They said “Living in poverty and accessing help (particularly receiving free school meals) can be a cause of shame and stigma for children and young people. There’s a fear of “feeling judged “and being “bullied “.