A PARENT of a child with additional needs said she thinks it is 'scandalous' disabled children who can't access free school meals are being penalised for their disability.

Some disabled children can't access free school meals they are eligible for.

Therefore, parents must provide packed lunches or cook for them at home, catering to specific dietary requirements which can be costly. 

Children may not be able to access free school meals for several reasons including:

A child does not physically attend school due to a long-term medical condition.

A child attends school but can't eat meals provided due to dietary requirements or sensory processing difficulties.

A child is home-learning because they are waiting for a school placement.

A child’s needs can't be met in a school setting and so is home-learning or have Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS), which is educational provision meeting the needs of children who can't attend school. 

Disability charity Contact is supporting a campaign calling for supermarket vouchers or equivalent for disabled children unable to access free school meals.

READ MORE: Northumberland children missing school due to cost of living

Contact said a free school meal is valued at £3 per day and there are 190 days in a school year, amounting to £570 a year some disabled children are missing out on.

Una Summerson, head of campaigns at Contact, said: “Disabled children who can’t access free school meals in the regular way should be helped not overlooked. There are many who are eligible but are missing out. Some are not in school due to mental health problems, others are at home waiting for a suitable school place. Some are on special diets which schools can’t cater for.

“There is lots of research which highlights the benefits of free school meals – children achieve more in their learning and low-income families get help towards the cost-of-living. That’s why we are supporting a parent-led campaign calling for supermarket vouchers to be given to eligible disabled children unable to access free school meals.”

One parent, whose name has been changed to Sarah* for anonymity purposes, has a child registered under EOTAS who is on roll at Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham.

Sarah said her child, Megan*, now 17, moved to high school in September 2019.

She was unable to cope with this due to health reasons, and was out of education yet still on roll at the high school. During this time, the Covid pandemic started meaning progress was postponed as schools closed.  

Free school meal vouchers were issued from the county council in Covid to relieve some of lockdown's financial pressure during term-time, which Megan started receiving.

"If you were on the school roll and you were entitled to free school meals, you would get your voucher. 

"Whereas when school is actually there, the children that can't attend but still on the school roll aren't getting anything."

Megan was registered under EOTAS by September 2020 and has been virtual learning since.

Sarah said: "During the holidays, we were still getting free school meal vouchers like everyone else because Megan remained on roll at QEHS. 

"Earlier this year, a friend of mine who's also got a child with additional needs pointed me to a Facebook group about disability discrimination with school vouchers.

"If Megan can get vouchers during holiday time, why is she not getting the same thing during term time?"

Sarah contacted Hexham MP Guy Opperman, who contacted the county council to check its policy on free school meals for children under EOTAS.

Parents can electively educate their children from home, meaning they make arrangements for their child’s welfare. However, for those under EOTAS, the local authority is responsible for securing and funding that provision.

The council responded that it gives funding to the school, which is then responsible for ensuring that gets passed on to families.

Council guidance stated: "If families have applied for free school meals and are eligible, then the funding automatically goes to their school and it is the school's responsibility to ensure that the family receives the support."

Meanwhile, Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister for Schools, said: "The Education Act 1996 places a duty on maintained schools and academies to provide free school meals to pupils of all ages that meet the criteria for eligibility and who are attending school during term time.

"Local authorities are funded to support children with special needs, including those who are unable to attend school on a long-term basis.

"The Government expects [local authorities and schools] to act reasonably, providing choices that take account of special dietary needs, and to work with parents in making appropriate arrangements."

Sarah said there is no cohesive country-wide strategy to address this issue.

"We're in a cost-of-living crisis, food costs are going up and it is disability discrimination.

"You're denying a child a meal on the basis that the system's not in place so they can access it. 

"Generally it's more expensive to feed children with disabilities. There's so many different variables, and schools can't always meet that which is fair enough. If parents are paying for it and they're entitled to that money, they should get that money." 

As Megan studies at home, it's not just ingredients Sarah is paying for.

"With the cost of electricity rising, it's not just the cost of ingredients, its cooking them. 

"Some families are on the breadline anyway and that additional cost could be the choice between heating or eating."

Sarah said she is 'disappointed' in the lack of support.

In February, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced all London primary school children will receive free school meals from September.

Sarah commented: "Inner cities generally have a lot more deprivation. But I think that's overlooking somewhere like Northumberland, rural communities experience a lot of deprivation. It may not be seen in the same way, but it does exist. 

"What's the difference between a child in London going to school hungry or a child in Northumberland? The effects are going to be the same.

"I think it's a scandal to be brutally honest. Purely because a child is disabled which means they can't access school, or can't access what's on the school's menu and can't get that free school meal, they're being penalised."

Another parent living in Tynedale succeeded in receiving a personal budget for their child's needs.

The parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "My child is unable to attend school because no school in the county can meet his needs, with a complex neurodivergent profile and educational needs.

"From September 2021 the local authority agreed a bespoke, out-of-school, one-to-one package of education provision for his EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) outcomes. This means he is not on roll at any school, but most importantly is not electively home-educated, the local authority still have responsibility to fund provision in his EHCP.

"The funding for the provision is paid to me via a personal budget which I use to pay the agreed providers. I have had to leave work to care full-time for him as I take him to all of the provisions.

"As a single parent on Universal Credit with no income my child is entitled to free school meals, but obviously cannot access meals as he is not at school. In April 2022, my local councillor Holly Waddell emailed the local authority SEND team to enquire about payment or vouchers in lieu of free school meals. In May, the local authority confirmed he was entitled and provided payment via the direct payment team," she said.

Cllr Holly Waddell said: "I have been working with families in my ward on issues effecting them. It is important when the council has policies offering support to families they provide the support promised. I am always happy to escalate issues on behalf of residents, it is what I was elected to do."

Sarah added: "The best case scenario would be throughout Northumberland, families get what they've missed out on, and the government does this on a national level, so every council knows what they're doing, every school knows what they're doing, and parents aren't getting passed from this person to that person, having to write letters and having to fight."

A spokesperson from Queen Elizabeth High School said the matter is being looked into.

*Names have been changed for anonymity purposes.