Free School Meals Success

This was the headline in 2014. 

Below Mayor Fiaz is repeating it in 2023. Interestingly, it is not a policy that she has always been so supportive of.

It seems that Mayor Fiaz has had a positive policy impact. Err, maybe.

In their book, Left, Right, Wrong, Wales and Furness reflect upon the introduction of free school meals and the positive effect that this had on children and families.

“Free school meals were primarily intended as a means of supporting children in their education and in making the most of their educational opportunities. It became much more and was a significant weapon in our arsenal to combat poverty.

“Newham was the first area in England to fund free school meals for all primary school children, resulting in significant gains in education performance. The initial pilots of this project in Newham and Durham (jointly funded by the Labour government and the councils) were evaluated by the social research centre NatCen and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who commented:

“‘… pupils in the pilot areas making between four and eight weeks more progress than similar pupils in comparison areas. The improvements in attainment tend to be strongest amongst pupils from less affluent families…’

“Following the withdrawal of government funds after the pilot period, Newham continued to fund free meals because we recognised the educational and nutritional benefits. This was done partly to improve education results, but also to support working families who saved around £437 annually for each child.”

Quoted in the Recorder in 2013, “Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, said: “The evidence from our free school meals programme is overwhelming–it benefits school children and their families…””

This was written about a programme that was initiated fifteen years ago, still, the PR for Sadiq’s new initiative seems eerily familiar.

Nonetheless, well done to Sadiq. It is an initiative that will benefit many children and their families across the capital. 

When it comes to the commitment of Mayor Fiaz to this policy, we are a little less convinced. 

We remember when Fiaz wanted to cut the programme to save money. Her Director of CYPS, Tim Aldridge told members of the Budget Working Group that free school meals were not things being done by other councils, “so why should Newham?” 

The answer was, because it had substantial benefits for children and their life chances. To their credit, members of the Labour Party and councillors revolted and the policy change was abandoned. 

Now it seems, Fiaz is a champion of free school meals for children.

It’s a good thing that no-one can remember her previous policy position. If they did, it would be just a little embarrassing for the mayor.