Somerset Council has approved a motion to explore automatic enrolment for free school meals, helping ensure more eligible children receive the support they are entitled to while unlocking vital funding for schools.
The move supports the Council’s commitment to giving every child the best start in life by reducing barriers for families and making it easier for eligible children to benefit from healthy, nutritious meals during the school day.
Under the current opt-in system, families must apply for free school meals themselves. This can mean some children miss out because of stigma, language barriers, lack of awareness, or difficulty navigating the application process.
The approved motion asks the Council’s Executive and relevant officers to consider the design and implementation of an opt-out automatic registration system, using existing council data where appropriate and subject to necessary legal, data protection and operational checks.
When a child is registered for free school meals, their school can also receive Pupil Premium funding from central government, helping provide extra support for disadvantaged pupils and improving educational outcomes.
Cllr Heather Shearer, Lead Member for Children, Families and Education at Somerset Council, said: “This is a really positive step forward for children and families in Somerset.
“No child should miss out on a healthy meal at school because of unnecessary barriers or because their family has not been able to complete an application. We want to make it as simple and dignified as possible for eligible families to receive the support they are entitled to.
“This work also has the potential to bring additional Pupil Premium funding into Somerset schools, supporting teaching, learning and targeted help for children who need it most.
“There is still detailed work to do to make sure any scheme is legally sound, secure and practical to deliver, but we are committed to working carefully and collaboratively with schools, partners and services across the Council to get this right.”
Cllr Leigh Redman, Leader of the Labour Group at Somerset Council and proposer of the motion, said:
“This is a simple but potentially transformative change that could make a real difference to children and families across Somerset.
“I am pleased that Councillors from across the chamber recognised the benefits of exploring this approach and backed the motion. I also want to thank officers who have already undertaken significant preparatory work to understand what would be required to make automatic enrolment possible.
“If we are serious about giving every child the best start in life, we must remove unnecessary barriers to support. This motion is an important step towards ensuring that no child misses out simply because a form was not completed.
“At a time when family budgets remain under pressure, Somerset should be doing everything it can to maximise the support available to children and bring every pound of education funding we are entitled to into our schools.”
The Council has already been working across directorates to understand what would be required to introduce automatic enrolment. Significant preparation has taken place over the past year, including work to assess the data, systems and processes needed to identify eligible children safely and accurately.
Implementation is complex and depends on access to Revenues and Benefits and Education datasets. Revenues and Benefits have operated on four different systems from the legacy councils and are now close to full alignment, which will be needed to enable this.
The Council is working towards implementation in January 2027, subject to the required checks and approvals.
