Children cannot reach their full potential if they go to class hungry, Wales school leader warns

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Welsh Education Minister Jeremy Miles said free school meals were essential as beleaguered families buckled under pressure after austerity and the legacy of the Covid pandemic

The Welsh Government has pledged to provide school dinners to all 272,000 primary school pupils by 2024 (

Image: Getty Images)

Children cannot be expected to learn well if they go to class hungry, says Welsh Schools Minister.

Jeremy Miles said free school meals were essential when families were straining after austerity and the legacy of the Covid pandemic.

The Welsh government has pledged to provide school dinners to all 272,000 primary school pupils by 2024, in stark contrast to the situation across the border in England.

An additional 45,000 children have become eligible for the benefit since September, with an additional 1.5 million meals served in Wales.

The Head of Welsh Schools has suggested the ambition could extend to secondary schools depending on the success of the roll-out to young children.

In an interview with the Mirror, Mr Miles said: "Parents want to make sure their children have the best, but when times are tough like they are now, it's really hard for parents to be able to afford to pack this lunch box the way they normally would.

Minister of Education, Jeremy Miles (

Picture:

Patrick Olner / Document via Government of Wales)

"So what we're doing is alleviating some of that pressure by making sure you know there's a healthy option for them in school that they don't have to pay for.

"It's about making school as accessible as possible and giving every child the fairest start."

He added, "I don't think you can expect children to reach their full potential if they aren't nurtured and ready to learn."

The rollout began at the start of the fall term, with children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 being the first beneficiaries.

And schools can move faster if their kitchens can handle it, Miles said.

When asked if they would roll it out to secondary schools, he replied, "We want to roll it out to all primary schools to make sure that all primary school children get a free school meal.

"We'll see then. We've said that any expansion should reflect the resources we have, but we also want to learn from the rollout of the primary...