Children with diabetes, epilepsy and autism are among more than 160,000 pupils who are missing out on free school meals they are eligible for.
Families are being forced into debt and parents are turning to food banks to feed their children as they are unable to access the free meals due to the complexity of their needs – including being too ill to attend school in person.
Analysis of Government data by disability charity Contact – shared with i – reveals that the issue is affecting more than 160,000 children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It amounts to these children losing out on the equivalennt of £570 a year of help that they are entitled to, as families and campaigners urge the Government to offer supermarket vouchers or other alternatives.
Labour MP Ian Byrne told i it was “shocking” that disabled children were being denied access to free school meals due to their disability.
The Liverpool West Derby MP, who is leading a parliamentary debate on the issue on Wednesday, said a lack of action on the issue was leaving families feeling ignored and “beaten down”.
He added: “The scale of the issue is remarkable. A lot of people in that situation feel that they’re voiceless, they’re not listened to.”
Contact is calling on the Government to include an instruction in its free school meals guidance to compel schools to offer lunch parcels or voucher options to the families of SEND children.
The Government has said it is reviewing the guidance to make clear that local authorities have a responsibility to provide for children who are unable to attend school.
