Campaigners welcome roll out of free school meals

The Scottish Campaign for Free School Meals today welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement that free school meals are to be rolled out to all Primary One to Three pupils.

According to Marion Davis of One Parent Families Scotland, a leading member of the Campaign,

“This is excellent news. Free school meals make a vital contribution to boosting children’s health, concentration and readiness to learn. The roll out of this brilliant initiative will prove a real benefit to families across Scotland.”

John Dickie, Head of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, added;

“This is a massive step forward in the campaign to ensure every child, whatever their home circumstances, gets a healthy meal at school. It will help boost children’s health, education and wellbeing and provide a really welcome benefit to hard pressed families across Scotland."

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said;

“As expected, the pilot schemes have shown the benefits that a universal approach to school meals can have. However, the real benefits should be felt in the years to come, benefits not just for the health of children, but improvements in educational outcomes. In the difficult economic conditions that many families now face this extra help is very much needed.”

John Mulvey, Co-ordinator of the Scottish Local Government Forum Against Poverty, said;

“We urge all MSPs to support this long awaited initiative which will have social, health and educational gains for all of Scotland’s children. We welcome the Scottish Government’s positive vision in this area.”

Speaking on behalf of the Campaign, David Gray of Children 1st, said;

"The successful evaluation of the Government's recent pilot scheme is to be welcomed and provides further support to our long-held view that children's needs are best served not by treating them in isolation from their peer group, but by recognising and catering for those needs as part of a wider cohort to which all children in Scotland belong. Every child has a right to at least one nutritious meal a day and we have a collective responsibility to ensure they get it. The Scottish Government's proposal to introduce nutritious school meals free of charge in the early years of primary school is a very welcome step in the right direction."

Notes for editors

1. For more details contact

• Marion Davis, One Parent Families Scotland on 07904 654 145
• John Dickie, head of CPAG in Scotland, on 07795 340 618;
• Peter Kelly Director, Poverty Alliance on 07766 606 454
• David Gray, Children 1st, (0141) 847 0888

2. The Scottish Government funded five local authorities (Fife, Scottish Borders, Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and East Ayrshire) to provide free school meals to all primary 1 to 3 pupils from October 2007 to June 2008), with a commitment, following evaluation, to rolling out the initiative across Scotland in 2010.

The pilot, which involved 35,000 children in West Dunbartonshire, Borders, Fife Glasgow and East Ayrshire, found that uptake of school meals among P1s to P3s rose from 53 per cent to 75 per cent.

3. The evaluation report and a 4 page Research Findings will be published on the Scottish Government website at:
Main report http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/08/29114033
Research findings http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/08/29113958