Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of education, health and care plans include nutritional information; and what (a) funding and (b) other support she has made available to local authorities to support SEND children with nutritional needs.
Answered by David Johnston
The department does not collect data on how many Education, Health and Care plans include nutritional information.
High needs funding to support the education of children with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) will total to £10.5 billion in 2024/25 which is an increase of over 60% from 2019/20. The majority of this funding is allocated to local authorities: they, and the schools they fund, can use this funding to subsidise or meet the cost of school food, including for those children with SEND who have nutritional needs.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance entitled Free school meals: guidance for schools and local authorities, published on 31 January 2023, if she will publish revised guidance with information on the provision of free school meals for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Answered by Damian Hinds
There are many pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) status that meet the eligibility criteria necessary for free school meals (FSM). The latest published statistics show that 41.1% of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan and 37.5% of pupils on SEND support were eligible for FSM provision in 2023. Similarly, many children with disabilities but not Special Educational Needs will be eligible, and those rates are higher than the overall proportion of pupils eligible for FSM in England.
The standard food offering provided by schools will be suitable to the needs of many of these children. However, some pupils with additional needs may require special food provision or arrangements. All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people, and they must make reasonable adjustments to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. That means that a school cannot treat a pupil unfairly because of their disability.
The department will update its published guidance on FSM to make reference to the reasonable adjustments duty in order to heighten awareness about reasonable adjustments, such as meal provision, amongst schools, local authorities and families. This guidance will be made available in spring 2024.