Deborah Prince welcomes the news that from September 2014 every child in an Infant School will get free school meals, saving families over £400 a year per child.

Deborah said “A healthy meal at lunchtimes for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will help raise schools standards further and save families money.

‘When the policy was announced we were concerned that some schools , like Churchfields Infants, would not be able to provide the extra meals. But pressure from the Lib Dems has ensured the Government quite rightly, has given local councils like Redbridge, additional funding where this is needed in our local schools.

‘Both Churchfields Infants and Oakdale Junior will benefit from this extra money, with Oakdale Junior then being able to serve Oakdale Infants.

‘Research around Free School Meals was run jointly by the Dept for Education(DfE) and Dept for Health. It showed that, over a 2 year period, students receiving free school meals, were on average two months ahead of their peers who did not receive school meals.

 ‘Given the age of the children this is a significant impact. So the initiative to provide a free hot lunch to all young school pupils will be welcomed by all parents and residents alike.”