Government policy decisions and changes in the make-up of those claiming free school meals has made data on such pupils 鈥渓ess useful for research鈥, meaning support is targeted 鈥渓ess efficiently鈥 than it should be, the Education Policy Institute has warned. Eligibility for free school meals and the pupil premium, paid to schools for any child eligible for meals at any time in the last six years, are frequently used by policymakers and researchers as a proxy for disadvantage. But the think tank said in a new report that the makeup of children who receive free school meals is becoming 鈥渕ore diverse and uncertain鈥, while at the same time the system excludes many children who live in poverty. Protections introduced by the Department for Education following the roll-out of universal credit meant children newly out of scope did not lose their eligibility until the end of their current phase of education. But the EPI said this meant 鈥渟ome children are in the group because of protections鈥 while contemporary peers whose families have a similarly low income are not. 鈥淣ot knowing the basis on which children are included and flagged as FSM-eligible means the data on these pupils are less useful for research, and that policy is targeted less efficiently than is optimal.鈥 ‘Time to review and improve data uses’ Dr Tammy Campbell, director for early years, inequalities and wellbeing at the EPI said: 鈥淔ree school meals has long been used as a key measure for multiple purposes within research and policymaking. 鈥淣ow it is time to review and improve its uses, and to look at alternatives, to better support economically disadvantaged children within the education system.鈥 The EPI found that across all years, fewer children are registered for free school meals than estimated in poverty, due to low family income thresholds at 拢7,400 per year. This is 鈥減artly by design鈥, because the 拢7,400 annual family income threshold for registration 鈥渋s so low鈥. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said the eligibility threshold for free school meals is a 鈥渄isgrace鈥. 鈥淐hildren and schools are missing out on crucial support because of out-of-touch bureaucracy blocking children鈥檚 access to food. 鈥淎 household income over 拢7,400 per year (before benefits) means a child is too well off to qualify. Worse still, the report shows how even those who meet the criteria are still not getting their entitlement. 鈥淭his has knock-on effects as schools lose out on vital pupil premium funding to support their most vulnerable children.鈥 Expand FSM eligibility and auto-enrol The EPI also found gaps between poverty rates and free school meals eligibility vary by ethnicity. 鈥淎mong children recorded as Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Indian ethnicities, estimated poverty rates are far higher than the percentage of children registered for FSM, and, to a lesser but still large extent, for PP.鈥 This is in part because poverty estimates 鈥渆quivalise for family size, while FSM-eligibility does not鈥. The EPI said the government should 鈥渆xpand the coverage of FSM eligibility鈥 by increasing the salary threshold for families, and 鈥減rovide sufficient funding鈥. Government should also 鈥渃onsider ethnicity and language background alongside FSM and PP, for example when comparing the experiences and outcomes of FSM/PP children to their peers鈥. And the DfE should also 鈥渃onsider centrally automatically enrolling eligible children for FSM to ensure better coverage鈥. Auto-enrolment was also recommended by the education select committee last week. More councils auto-enrol pupils for FSM Sureena Brackenbridge, a Labour member of the committee, said she would welcome free school meals for all pupils, but accepted public finances are 鈥渢ight鈥. 鈥淥ther pressing issues also demand funding, such as the dire state of special educational needs and disabilities provision after 14 years of neglect. A responsible government must prioritise. Council’s 拢800 exercise results in 拢1.2m school funding boost 鈥淭hat said, we can still improve the free school meal system without universalising it.鈥 Auto-enrolment is also being introduced by individual councils and groups of local authorities. A last year saw 20 councils switch to an opt-out approach, resulting in around 20,000 unregistered children being signed up for free meals. Another 40 councils are now exploring the possibility of implementing similar schemes, Pepe Di鈥橧asio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 鈥淎ll eligible children should be automatically enrolled so that no child misses out, and that schools should be paid a higher rate of pupil premium to support children who are in persistent poverty.鈥