Special school leaders have called for extra funding to cover the costs of providing free school meals as soaring food and staff costs leave gaping holes in their budgets. Unlike mainstream schools, special schools do not receive specific funding for means-tested . Although they receive more funding per-pupil and top-up funding from councils based on pupils鈥� individual needs, leaders say their budgets have become increasingly stretched by competing costs and static funding. The number of special school pupils eligible for free school meals has also risen from 36.5 per cent in 2017 to 44.7 per cent last year. Marijke Miles, headteacher of Baycroft School in Hampshire, said the cost of providing food to pupils had risen from 拢2.40 per meal in 2020 to 拢3 this year. Almost half of her 200 pupils are eligible, meaning providing meals costs her 拢51,000 a year. She said the DfE had said it did not want to change funding formulas for what it saw as 鈥渞elatively small amounts of money鈥� but it鈥檚 increasingly becoming a large amount of money鈥�. 鈥楨nough is enough鈥�: Special schools’ devastating budgets revealed聽 Miles added: 鈥淚f I didn’t have to feed the children on their education money, I could have an extra teacher.鈥� The Eden Academy Trust has seven special schools and estimates the cost of providing meals has increased by 拢27,000 in just three years. The cost of ingredients alone has risen from 拢1.77 to 拢2.60 per meal, but chief operating officer Sudhi Pathak said staff costs, including supervisory assistants needed to help pupils who struggle to feed themselves, took the per-meal cost to over 拢8.00. He said the lack of ring-fenced funding 鈥渃auses us problems鈥�, with competing 鈥減ulls鈥� on core funding. To complicate matters, five of the trust鈥檚 schools are in London, where the mayor Sadiq Khan recently announced funding to extend universal free school meals to all primary pupils. However, funding has been set at 拢2.65 per meal, far short of Eden鈥檚 projected costs. Schools Week has estimated the shortfall across London between funding and the actual cost of providing meals is around 拢33 million. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the cost of the meal. It’s the equipment that we need, or extra staff in the kitchen,鈥� Pathak said. James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders鈥� union NAHT, warned that 鈥渟oaring鈥� inflation has 鈥渉eaped more pressure on these schools, as seen through the increasing cost of school meals, for which special schools receive no specific funding鈥�. He added: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 needed is a significant uplift in funding for the sector.鈥� A Department for Education spokesperson said special schools were 鈥渇unded from local authorities鈥� high needs budgets, at funding levels that reflect the varying costs of provision for their pupils, including the costs of meals鈥�.