02/09/2014

Free School Meals For Infants

Every child in the first three years of school is now eligible for a free school meal.

This follows an announcement made by the Deputy Prime Minister last year to help every child from every background get the best possible start in life.

The move means that 1.89 million children in reception, year 1 and year 2 at 16,500 schools will be able to eat a free meals at lunchtime, saving families up to £400 per year and helping children to do better in the classroom and improve their daily diet.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who made the announcement, said: "I've made it a personal priority to give all infant children free school meals so I'm delighted that we are seeing this being rolled out across the country from the start of this school year.

"The government has provided over £1 billion to meet the costs of the meals over the next 2 years and has also made £150 million of capital available to schools and local authorities to help them build new kitchens or increase dining capacity where necessary. A further £22.5 million has been provided specifically to help smaller schools provide free school meals and a dedicated support service has also been set up to offer advice and help."

(CD/IT)

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