Children are going to school so hungry they are stealing each other's snacks and eating rubbers to feel full, a new poll has found.
A child in school was found eating a slice of bread to avoid being hungry as parents struggle to afford nutritious lunch boxes, a teacher has claimed.
Lisa Williams, head teacher at Rushey Green Primary School, from Lewisham, told My London she saw a child eating "just a slice of bread" as the country faces the cost of living crisis.
A poll carried by the school food charity, Chefs in Schools , heard from primary teachers who reported children eating rubbers to have something in their bellies.
Other students were storing food in their pockets to take home, stealing snacks from others and teachers having to use their own money to feed pupils.
At Rushey Green, they make all food from scratch and are able to use surplus produce to ensure there is enough to go around. Nationally teachers said children are unable to concentrate, are very short tempered and emotional when hungry and staff have spent their own money to have snacks in class available for these children.
Head chef Luke Kemsley said: “Some children don’t have enough food in their packed lunch box but they pretend otherwise or they’ll stay away from the dining hall because they’re embarrassed. We’ll seek them out and ensure they eat."
Luke had free school meals himself as a child and says change is needed to support schools and families. The Chefs in Schools charity is calling for an extension to the eligibility for free school meals. They say currently, 800,000 children at risk of going hungry are not entitled to support.
England’s school meal eligibility threshold means only families who earn below £7,400 are entitled to free school meals, whereas in Scotland and Wales, free school meals are being introduced for all children at primary level, while Northern Ireland’s eligibility threshold is almost twice that of England’s at £14,000.
Head Chef Luke at Rushey Green school added: “I look back and feel fortunate to have had free school meals myself. I grew up in South East London, with a single mother, and as a family we really didn’t have much money, but I did get food at school. I don’t know where I’d have been without it. We all know that being hungry impacts learning and had I been hungry daily, like lots of children are now, I would not have reached my potential.”
Meanwhile the Department of Education say they have expanded access to free school meals and are investing up to £24m in the National School Breakfast Programme, which provides free breakfasts to children in schools in disadvantaged areas.
