• AS two mums on part-time wages, with a five-year-old at school, we are very relieved to hear of London mayor Sadiq Khan’s pro-child, pro-mother, policy of extending free school meals to all children in state-funded schools up to Year 6.

We have been part of campaigns for free school meals and it’s great when public figures like footballer Marcus Rashford stand with poor children and their mothers who deny themselves food to feed their children, as his mother did.

Our son’s local school used to give free school meals up to and including Year 2 (when most children are six years old) but they are now extending it to Year 6 (10-11 years old).

Mayor Khan has introduced the policy for a year starting from now. This policy will save lives and it urgently needs to be made permanent.

We appreciate also that our local school is making meals healthier including offering children every day: fruit, salad, and reduced sugar in puddings.

It will make a big difference to us as a family of four, with a baby, that we do not have to find the money for school meals for our son for those extra three years, and that our daughter will be able to have free school meals for all her years at primary school if it becomes permanent policy.

It takes a big pressure firstly off children, who are going hungry, and then mothers and other parents; especially at this time when bills are high and food and other essentials are going up all the time, and thousands of single mothers are already skipping meals to feed their children and using food banks.

In 2021/2022 4.2 million children were living in poverty in the United Kingdom and children of colour and immigrants are more in poverty.

We hope this policy will be extended to all UK schools so generations of children have their health, growing needs, and ability to learn protected.

DIDI ROSSI
JOSIE WATSON
c/o Crossroads Women’s Centre, NW5