Imogen Steele, Policy and Communications Officer, Contact
Today’s post is by Imogen Steele from the charity Contact about a webinar on free school meals for disabled children taking place on September 19th. This webinar has been produced by Contact and not Special Needs Jungle, but we want as many people as possible to take part so we’re happy to support their efforts in spreading the information.
Links to the webinar recording and free legal resources can be found at the end of this post.
Hi, my name is Imogen and I left university determined to change the education system so that all disabled children are given equal opportunities. My personal experience as a person with cerebral palsy convinced me that change was needed. I am currently Policy and Communications Officer for Contact, a UK charity that supports families with disabled children, and lead Contact’s inclusive free school meals campaign.
There has been a lot of media and policy attention recently to the expansion of Free School Meals (FSM) in London and elsewhere. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the inaccessibility of the current system for many disabled children.
Based on responses from 1,800 households, Contact’s research found that one-third of eligible children with disabilities don’t have access to free lunches at school through the standard route, because:
60% are unable to eat school meals due to health conditions, dietary restrictions or sensory processing disorders, 22% are unable to attend school due to a long-term medical condition or illness, and 18% are being provided with an education package by the council or are waiting for a suitable school place.
As a result, families are losing out on financial support of £570 each year, with many having to turn to food banks to make up for this.
How about supermarket gift certificates as an alternative?
During the pandemic, FSM was provided through supermarket food vouchers. For many parents with disabled children, this was the first time their children had benefited from the FSM scheme. However, as soon as the pandemic ended, parents with disabled children were unable to access FSM again during term time.
That’s when parent carer Natalie Hay launched a campaign calling for food vouchers for eligible disabled children who can’t access FSM in the usual way, and Contact is Supporting agreed to back the campaign.
Natalie Hay, Parental Caregiver
What is this campaign trying to achieve?
For an FSM scheme to be fully comprehensive, it is necessary to:
An automatic right to supermarket vouchers for eligible disabled children who would not otherwise be able to get free school meals at school; Free school meals guidance making it clear that schools and councils must provide some form of free school meals for disabled children who would not otherwise be able to get school meals; Changing the law to allow children with EOTAS who would normally be eligible for FSM to receive school meals.
“We hope that government policy will be adapted and shine as a beacon of inclusivity,” Natalie Hay said.
Shouldn’t schools make reasonable adjustments?
Yes, the Minister for Schools acknowledged this in a letter to Contact.
The Education Act 1996 (section 512) provides that for children enrolled in school, free school meals should be provided to eligible pupils on the school premises or anywhere else where education is provided. This provision can be in the form of vouchers, for example.
In addition, education providers have a duty under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 (pdf link) to make reasonable adjustments to the way free school meals are provided if the standard approach would put a disabled pupil at a significant disadvantage compared to other pupils.
However, most schools are unaware of their legal responsibilities, and the Department of Education’s guidelines on free school meals make no mention of providing supermarket vouchers as a reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities.
What to do if your child doesn’t qualify for free lunches at school or college
Many parents have had success using Contact’s template letter. Parent carer Ellie used the template letter and not only did her children’s school agree to provide supermarket vouchers, they retroactively awarded her over £1000 in vouchers. She said: “With current prices it’s a huge weight off our shoulders – it really helps with our weekly food bills and means we won’t have to rely on food banks.”
To learn more, join Contact’s webinar.
As part of the campaign, Contact hosted a free online Zoom conference with human rights lawyer Alex Luke and barrister Steve Broach.
Learn about the law regarding Free School Meals (FSM) and public authorities’ obligations to make reasonable accommodations. What to do if your child is not eligible for free lunches at school or college because of a disability or sensory needs. Find out about new free legal resources you can use to request reasonable accommodations for school meal provision. There is also an opportunity to ask any questions.
A recording of the webinar is available at the end of the post.
To participate in the campaign, please follow these steps:
Watch the webinar recording
A recording of Contact’s free school meals webinar is now available to watch, in which human rights lawyer Alex Luke and barrister Steve Broach explain the law surrounding school meals and also explain how you can apply for meal vouchers if your child is not receiving free meals using new free legal resources available on the Contacts website.
Read also:
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Special Needs Jungle was founded in 2008 by Tania Tirraoro as a personal SEN blog and is now an award-winning, multi-authored site covering special needs, disabilities, mental health and rare conditions for children and young people from birth to 25 years old.
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