Children and young people from the Cost of the School Day Voice network call for Universal Free School Meals (USFM) at a Scottish Parliament roundtable.
South Lanarkshire Council’s Cost of the School Day Conference took place this week, where the local authority further cemented its commitment to equity by launching its Cost of the School Day guidance, and ten proposals.
While the additional financial support provided to households with children in Scotland is having a positive impact on family incomes compared with the UK as a whole, many are still struggling to meet a socially acceptable standard of living.
It was great to gather so many Cost of the School Day Voice network members together at one time, with more than 500 young people from across Scotland joining the first Big Meet Up online sessions.
This report focuses on free school meals (FSM) in the North West of England, including new statistics on the number of children in poverty across the region missing out. It also looks at the role of schools and local authorities in FSM provision. Finally the report considers the socio-economic benefits, including the impact on children’s socio-economic rights, that support a nationwide universal roll out of FSM.