Tammy Campbell

Free school meal plan requires key change to stop children ‘missing out’, Labour told Experts say children may not receive the meals they are eligible for

Our new report, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org, shows significant variation in how free school meals (FSM) and free early years meals (FEYM) are accessed across schools and local authorities (LA) in England.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

📺EPI Director @drtammycampbell.bsky.social on @itvnews.bsky.social earlier, giving a cautious welcome to the changes to FSM eligibility

www.itv.com/watch/news/w...

🔊Comment: EPI's @drtammycampbell.bsky.social comments on the the expansion of free school meal eligibility.

Why the free school meals system is broken – and how to fix it Under the current system, harsh eligibility requirements and complicated bureaucracy mean many children living in poverty miss out on a free lunch. Experts tell Ellen Peirson-Hagger what the governmen...

Though, as experts including @drtammycampbell.bsky.social and @carlcullinane.bsky.social told me, a proper system of auto-enrolment will be the crucial next step in ensuring those children actually receive the free meals

@kerriscooper.bsky.social and I wrote this @edupolicyinst.bsky.social blog on the 'two child limit' a while ago - sad that it's more relevant that ever

YouTube video by Education Policy Institute EPI Annual Lecture 2025: Addressing Education and Skills Inequalities in the UK

🚨For anyone that missed our 2025 Annual Lecture with @annavignoles.bsky.social looking at education and skills inequalities in the UK, you can now watch the recording here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR06...
epi.org.uk/events/educa...

With thanks to @britishacademy.bsky.social for kindly hosting us.

‘They will consider prosecuting me’: parents on why their children are missing school – and the consequences Many say absence is due to England’s mainstream schools being unable to meet needs of neurodivergent pupils

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Anna Maxwell Martin calls for end to ‘cruel, idiotic’ fines for school absence Exclusive: actor says experience of school refusal showed her more compassion is needed, not exclusions

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

The reality of claiming PIP: a 🧵

1) To claim PIP you have to describe in excruciating detail all the ways you cannot function. This means that you are forced to think in very detailed terms exactly how disabled you are, which often has a devastating effect on the mental health of the applicant 1/?

Free school meals: the case for auto-enrolment The author of a major new study into auto-enrolment for free school meals and the associated benefits it unlocks outlines the key findings - and what issues would still remain

💬 The EPI’s @drtammycampbell.bsky.social outlines the key findings from a major report into free school meals and puts forward the case for auto-enrolment (and why it would not solve all issues)

Who has been registered for free school meals and pupil premium in the National Pupil Database? - Education Policy Institute A new report published by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by the Nuffield Foundation, explores the strengths and weaknesses of free school meals (FSM) and Pupil Premium (PP) as measures f...

📢 Today, the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org published a new report exploring the strengths & weaknesses of Free School Meals (FSM) and Pupil Premium (PP) as measures for identifying disadvantaged pupils in England.

Read full report👇
epi.org.uk/publications...

Free school meals: the case for auto-enrolment The author of a major new study into auto-enrolment for free school meals and the associated benefits it unlocks outlines the key findings - and what issues would still remain

Op-ed: the government should continue to investigate the ways that FSM registration is used; who it represents, includes and excludes; the workings of policies and practices relying on FSM; and how pupils and families can more effectively be supported and provided for...

www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Very interesting work by @wcrennajennings.bsky.social and @allenjoseph.bsky.social

Join us for our next #CASE #SocialExclusionSeminar on 5 March. Whitney Crenna-Jennings @edupolicyinst.bsky.social will be speaking on children missing from education
Find out more: sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/_new/ev...
Sign up via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-do-wom...

From @allenjoseph.bsky.social and @wcrennajennings.bsky.social: 'reliable waiting time data for children’s mental health services do not exist...researchers, policymakers and leaders should be brave enough to admit what they don’t know.'

blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

@lseblogs.bsky.social

Nice chart from @mrjpandrews.bsky.social showing how schools serving more economically disadvantaged pupils are likely to be scored low according to current 'accountability' measures

How can we reduce food poverty for under-fives? Building on recommendations with expert input. - Education Policy Institute What have we learnt about food poverty experienced by under-fives?  We recently published a report on food poverty affecting under-fives, which highlighted the scale and the impact of the problem, as ...

🚨New EPI event summary paper from @kerriscooper.bsky.social : How can we reduce food poverty for under-fives? Building on recommendations with expert input.

Read the full article here👇
epi.org.uk/publications...

Move in the right direction, but could go further?

If your lab/team does fact checks or code reviews, do you have any tips for how to make it a less painful process? #academiasky

How can we reduce food poverty for under-fives? - Education Policy Institute A new report by the Education Policy Institute, funded by the KPMG Foundation, investigates food poverty in the early years. The research interrogates the effectiveness of national policies already in...

In related work, we explored food poverty among under fives - and recommend that the government should work towards universal free meals in early years settings whilst supporting the sector to be able to implement this. epi.org.uk/publications...

📅Day 24: Our @nuffieldfoundation.org project is exploring what underpins fluctuations in the percentage of children registered for FSM at across time, cohorts, stages, and places.

Read our evidence review here: epi.org.uk/publications...

📅Day 16: Children are much less likely to be registered for FSM in early primary, meaning they miss out on activities and provision, and their school misses out on pupil-premium funding.

Read the full report here:
epi.org.uk/publications...

📅Day 15: Our research into the Phonics Screening Check scrutinised national data and surveyed teachers. Among many interesting patterns we find that older teachers report spending less time prepping in the period leading up to the assessment

Read the full publication here
epi.org.uk/publications...

📅Day 10: Only 8 per cent of students on the T level transition programme in 21/22 progressed on to a T level, and almost a third of those who did then dropped out by the end of the their first year. #EPIAdventCalendar

You can read the full report 👇
epi.org.uk/wp-content/u...

📅Day 13: Important features for predicting increased FSM under-registration. The larger the phrase, the more important it was.

Read the full report here 👇
epi.org.uk/publications...

What kind of society would willingly traumatise its children in the name of education? | John Harris As claims about practices in two flagship London academies are investigated, it’s time to stop and think about what schools are really for, says Guardian columnist John Harris

What kind of society would willingly traumatise its children in the name of education? John Harris says as claims about practices in two flagship London schools are investigated, it’s time to stop and think about what schools are really for www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

BBC London lunchtime news, for which this was the lead story, reported that Hackney Council's Independent Safeguarding Children Commissioner has announced a safeguarding review "in response to concerns raised about Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy".

This is really upsetting

John Swinney to lift two child benefit cap in Budget announcement The Scottish Government will move to scrap a policy critics say pushes families into poverty.

This is absolutely huge from the Scottish Parliament. Combined with the Scottish Child Payment it means a family with 3 children on Universal Credit will be *£7k* per year better off than if they lived in England. And we know that will make a massive difference www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politic...

V thorough, balanced, and interesting article with many parallels to our recent @edupolicyinst.bsky.social Phonics Screening Check research epi.org.uk/publications...