The restrictions of the Free School Meals programme in the UK

“No child should be too young to count”.
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Bremner & Co, a research and strategy consultancy specialising in food policy and systems change based in the United Kingdom, recently published a report entitled “Too young to count? Why most disadvantaged under-5s miss out on free meals”, which reveals that despite rising hunger and poverty, most children in Early Years in the UK are excluded from free meal support. Bremner & Co describe nutrition as vital in the first few years of a child’s life and “one of the most powerful ways to tackle inequalities before they become deeply entrenched”.

The report follows the announcement that from September 2026 all households receiving Universal Credit (UC) will receive Free School Meals (FSM) in the UK. The report details how this programme risks leaving children in Early Years behind and the severe impacts it will have on children and families.

Free Early Years Meals
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Restrictive Conditions

While the Free School Meals programme is a major step toward improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, the implementation of the programme in Early Years, known as Free Early Years Meals (FEYM) sees additional restrictive criteria, such as the Early Years setting type, attendance pattern, and registration, which results in most disadvantaged under-5s seeing no benefit.

Only children attending a state-funded setting are eligible for the programme, however it is estimated that 65 per cent of the Early Years system in England is made up of private, voluntary and independent settings. Additionally, even in state-funded settings the FEYM programme is not guaranteed as some are considered ‘governor-led’ or ‘alternative provision’. Moreover, while funding is received for the programme to be provided in schools, there is no dedicated funding for FEYM or any food provision in Early Years.

Eligibility

The following requirements must be met to be eligible for Free Early Years Meals:

• Attend a state-maintained setting
• Attend both before and after lunch
• Meet current income-related eligibility: Live in a household which has an income below £7,400 (aligned with FSM eligibility threshold) and is in receipt of certain benefits
• Have a claim to take up FEYM made on their behalf and have that claim approved

In comparison, the following requirements are in place for Free School Meals:

• The child must attend government-funded school.
• The child’s household must be in receipt of one of a list of benefits.

Impact on children

Due to the restrictions, the majority of disadvantaged children in Early Years will not receive a free meal. The report estimates that around 1.1 million children aged one to three years attend an Early Years service, and of this figure 24,000 children are currently eligible for FEYM. This represents only eight per cent of children attending state-funded schools and only two per cent of the total number attending an Early Years service.

It is estimated that there are 328,000 children aged one to three years living in households receiving UC attending an Early Years service. Despite the new expansion of FSM to all households receiving UC from 2026, it is estimated that a new total of 39,000 children will be eligible for the programme, representing just four per cent of all children attending an Early Years service. This means there are 290,000 children living in UC households that will not receive FEYM as a result of the restrictive requirements.

These figures highlight the importance of considering the wide variety of Early Years provision when designing policies to ensure that all types of settings are supported. This importance is evidenced further considering the proportion of children eligible for FSM is estimated to increase from 24 per cent to 30 per cent of the school population, while the programme in Early Years will benefit less than four per cent of all children attending an Early Years service.

Policy Recommendations 

The report makes the following recommendations:

1. Extend Free Early Years Meals eligibility to all children in households on Universal Credit, regardless of setting type.
2. Remove the requirement that children attend both before and after lunch to qualify for a free meal.
3. Implement automatic registration for Free Early Years Meals so that all children who are entitled can access a free meal.
4. Ensure food provision is a core focus of the Department for Education’s 2026 Early Years funding review, with sufficient investment to meet nutritional standards across all settings.

Conclusion

This report highlights the implications that are felt by children and families when a policy is developed without taking a holistic view of the Early Years system and without considering all types of provision. You can read the report in full here.

If you have any questions or queries about our work, please contact [email protected].