Responding to the finding by the Institute of Fiscal Studies that seven in ten children who live in households in receipt of Universal Credit are ineligible for free school meals, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Many children living in poverty miss out on free school meals under the current restrictive criteria.

“Since the pandemic and cost of living crisis we have heard more heartbreaking stories from members who have had to set up foodbanks, offer families supermarket vouchers, and fundraise to extend the number of pupils they can provide with free school meals.

“Teachers and school leaders are increasingly having to tackle the impact of poverty before they can even start teaching.

“NAHT is clear that extending free school meals to all children in households in receipt of universal credit would provide a nutritional safety net which would make an enormous difference to children’s health, wellbeing and their ability to learn.

“It’s the right thing to do and we urge the government to fund this extension to free school meal eligibility as soon as possible.”