Should free meals be offered to all primary school students?

Only in public schools

No, but the income threshold should be increased.

Yes and make sure that pupils are full and healthy

No, only for children from low income families

only for low income family

only if they come from a poor background

To everyone in Key Stage 1

No, only to low income students and it should not be obvious who they are

Yes, but only for those families that are in financial trouble (no need to 'prove it', parents can just say)

Depends on the upbringing of the child and if they have food at home to eat.

meals should be free to those who cant aford it

No, but the income threshold should be raised significantly.

They are only children who shouldn’t have to pay for meals that should be offered to them at meal times as it’s mandatory

No but they should pay very little e.g. £1

Only for families that cannot afford it

It should be income assesed

No, only those whose parents or guardians are at a certain low-income threshold. The meals would also have to meet high-nutritional standards.

Free school meals should be provided for all students in mandatory education if they are up to high nutritional value

No, but heavily regulate prices of school meals for primary school students to keep meals affordable for all families.

No, the country cannot afford this. Meals will be subject to a blanket rate of £2.65 a day. Packed lunches will be banned.

If they are of a certain income they should but if they are over that then they should be able to pay for themselves

Allow each school to decide if they want to provide free school meals or not and I do personally support it

Only to the kids in struggling working class families whose parents cannot provide care/3 hot meals a day

Free meals for those who need them and the little recipients and other parents should not know who receives free school meals.

Free to all school ages for families under a certain income threshold including those parents in work

Yes but only because everything else is expensive for everyone now and only if they can make them nutritious

No, but the current method of evaluating eligibility is not recognising the shift in need. Many working families need support

Those who cannot afford it should have free meals but those who can should be charged and this money should go towards improving the education system.

Not to all students should get it - however I think people who can not afford to feed their children should. But hopefully if the system is financial situation is improved this shouldn’t be a big issue anymore

Yes but only if they meet certain background criteria (like low income) and they should be nutritious

No, but change the maximum earnings a family receives in a year to a higher amount to include more students eligible for free meals.

Again the really poor need this the rest don’t focus on the needy no one size fits all it is not right that a child I know walks 5 miles to school and back however his classmates are dropped of in large fancy cars well done to those parents who gave legally made life easier for their children not every family is so lucky or talented

Those who need the support should get it, shouldn’t give free meals to children of families who earn considerable, comfortable incomes.

If the Student’s family is in a situation where they don’t have the money to pay for it then they should be eligible to apply for free school meals

No, those who are struggling should have free school meals however I believe the threshold should definitely be raised.

Introduce a real living wage so that parents can afford to feed their families, but do help those who need support

free school meals are great for low paid workers but not for the rich who can afford to feed their children. it should be means tested

Yes but also have a pay what you can or voluntary contribution for those that can afford it to pay something.

They should be means tested. Children often don't eat school meals and a lot of food is thrown away which is a waste of taxpayers' money.

To all students that need them depending on each individuals families income. Protect the vulnerable.

No, but with the earnings level raised much higher to include many more children and nutrition improved.

Not to all children - but the income threshold must be raised to incorporate more lower income households

We should provide families with enough of a living income that bye are able to feed their own families.

No, but the income threshold should be raised and funding needs to be increased so that meals are better and more widely and easily available to those that need it

Parents should be payed a decent wage so they can feed their children. Or when there is concern from the school or social services that the child isn’t eating enough

Yes, but only to children of low-middle income families who would struggle to get a nutritional meal if it wasn't provided.

Why are we asking whether or not we should FEED children? How is this even an issue we are debating the value of? Kids have no control over the situations they are born into, and have no control over whether they are provided for. That is out job.

No, but free school meals should be provided to pupils with parents’ earnings at a higher threshold than the current value

No free school meals should be given to those who genuinely need it, like low income or single parent households

Affordability test done to provide families with meals if family has an overall income of less than 70k

Free school meals should only be offered to those that cannot afford it and if they are of high nutritional standard.

No, but we should raise the £7,400 limit currently in place, so more low income families can benefit

No but they should be available at good standards and a price that encourages most families to take them.

Should be means tested and meet high nutritional standards. Unfair to have lower income families subsidising higher income families via taxation

No, unless the family is provably below a very low income threshold, and subsidised for those between a very low and low income threshold. Full price for all above. School meals should meet high nutritional standards.

No. If a family are in a sensible financial bracket they should pay. Those under should receive free school meals

No, it is not necessary, but staff in schools should be able to nominate vulnerable pupils and parents should be able to ask if they feel they need it. Not just based on income. E.g. vulnerable children due to domestic issues in the family, or children under early help.

No - they shoud be optional for all and largely subsidised for low income families and have improved nutritional standards

It always seemed wasteful.to.offer to infantbages as there qas a lot of waste. It would be more sensible.to offer to an older age group

No, it should be based on some form of whether the families can afford it or not, as some would easily be able to afford it.

Yes, but the offer should include a financial audit so the system could increase the responsibility of the parents.

No, but the family earnings threshold should be set far higher to allow more children to qualify for a free meal

Yes: if they meet high nutritional standards; change the school day, so fewer pupils have to stay for lunch.

Families over a certain household wage should pay for their children's school meals. Those under a certain bracket should receive free meals.

Kids who need it should get it, but don’t spend resources feeding kids for free who are from a comfortable background and whose parents can afford it

I feel that families under a certain amount of income should be able to access free school meals, not just those that get universal credit.

Education of adults in food from a young age and making meals and important event again. Responsibility starts with parents

They should be offered to children where parents meet a financial criteria. This should include where both parents are working.

lower income families should receive free school meals but increase the threshold from £7,400 a year to £25,140

They should be made free to students that household has a low income or are living off a single persons wage

For families that need it if they can’t afford it, this should be provided free of charge to the students that need it

If they are from a family where there is poverty or poor income, with evidence that this is by circumstance then the children are entitled to a nutritional diet.

The threshold for free meals should be raised to benefit more low income families. The top 50% should have to pay.

No, but the income threshold for recieving free school meals should be raised to the same as the initial tax threshold

No, it should be means tested like it is currently but the wage should be highered so more children are eligible

Means-tested and on a sliding scale of contributions. Should be monitored to avoid the system being taken advantage of.

No. As a parent I have always been able to afford it but maybe the qualifying criteria should be reviewed to help more families that need it

should be cheap, non profit and healthy. some children who have low income families should have access to free school meals

This should be means tested. As someone who would not meet the minimum income bracket I would have been perfectly happy to pay for school meals.

Yes, for the children who need it. No for those who don’t eg. from a household with two above average earner guardians

Yes or a voucher to buy what the child will actually eat as lots dont eat the school meal and so its thrown in the bin

Meals with high nutritional standards should be supplied to children that need it. The application process should be discreet and easy, and the child or parent should be able to apply.

No, but it should be means tested with a higher eligibility threshold and not just benefits dependent.

Poorer pupils needs should be met (discretely). Children from more affluent backgrounds should make a contribution.

Only if budgets can allow for it otherwise the children who rely on them the most skims be prioritised

If parents have enough money and prove that they will provide that for their child then no, otherwise absolutely

No, it should be means tested, so for example children from families earning under £3000 would be offered free meals but these must be what is considered high nutritional value and not the rubbish that previously has been served.

It should be means tested. The norm shouldn’t be the school feeds children, wages should be higher and allow parents to provide for their children. However, help is there if needed.

Yea but funded by the government - not to be funded out ofn the education budget which is already tiny

Yes, in the short-term, but this should eventually be phased out, as the Universal Basic Income programme will make it cheaper for parents to make their children their own meals

No only for children that parents qualify under a means tested scheme like the current pupil premium but raise the current threshold so more families qualify

maybe for children that come from a low income family, it could be a benefit that comes on top of universal credit

Only to those in a position where they cannot afford it, those with higher household incomes should pay as they can afford to

Not every child needs free school meals though. Yes more do, but it those from a high income family do not need this