The Mayor of London's policy to provide free school meals to all pupils in state-funded primary schools has delivered a wide range of positive benefits despite having a limited effect on academic attainment, concludes a study led by UCL researchers.
Commissioned by The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), academics from the UCL Institute of Education carried out an independent evaluation of London's universal free school meals policy, examining its impact on attainment, attendance and other educational outcomes.
Detailed data analysis was led by Dr Sam Sims (UCL Learning and Leadership), who found pupils that began accessing free school meals as part of the policy did not make any additional academic progress in their Key Stage 2 assessments, 10 months later, when compared to a similar group of pupils in local authorities whose access to free school meals did not change.
However, despite no measurable change in academic attainment, the researchers found the policy to have been positively received by schools and families, particularly those families who had previously not qualified for means tested free school meals.
Surveys evaluated the experience of headteachers and parents across London. As well as reduced stress in providing packed lunches and increased wellbeing from knowing that their child eats a hot nutritious meal each day, the parents surveyed described how the policy reduced their financial stresses. 41% of parents reported significant reductions in financial stress, saying universal free school meals made a big difference to their finances and a further 39% saying it made a small difference.
Uptake of free school meals under the policy was high across the city with about 90% participation among newly eligible children. High participation continued across children with dietary needs, religious meal requirements and SEND.
The universality of the policy appeared to improve access to families who may not have realised they were eligible for support under the old system. Children who had been eligible for means-tested school meals increased their uptake from 88% to 94% under the policy.
Also, as part of the evaluation, Dr Mark Hardman (UCL Curriculum, Pedagogy & Assessment) took a team of researchers to observe student lunchtimes in a number of primary schools across London. These case studies provided the researchers with an opportunity to see the policy implemented in practice, and captured the perspectives of headteachers, teachers, catering staff, parents and children.
The team observed increased community cohesion within the schools, with a greater focus on lunchtime, nutrition and eating together. Some schools took the opportunity to redecorate their lunch spaces, refreshing displays with nutritional information.
Dr Hardman said: "Our independent evaluation has shown the universal free school meals policy to be a hugely popular move, especially for families whose incomes sit just above the threshold that would have previously qualified them for support.
"Take-up was high across the city, but we also found personal choice to be a really important factor in determining whether children took up school meals, particularly for the older age groups.
""Having a sense of agency over their food choices and being able to choose their meals at the point of service was crucial. It made them more likely to try new foods while also reducing family stress associated with pre-ordering meals."
This interim report presents findings 10 months after the policy was introduced and a final report, to be published in 2026, will assess the policy's impact over its first two years.
The Education Endowment Foundation is an independent charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement.
