Kensington and Chelsea to give £250k to schools for free school meals and energy bills

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

A west London council is spending £250k to help families struggling through the cost-of-living crisis.

The cash will go directly to state-funded primary schools and will come in the form of free school meals, discounts on uniforms or energy vouchers.

Kensington and Chelsea council said the borough has recently experienced a 10 per cent rise in the number of households living below the poverty line.

Another 20 per cent – or just over 6,000 households – reported facing financial hardship. More than 9,000 homes reported not being able to afford their fuel bills.

The council said: “The cost-of-living crisis will impact on everyone, but will impact on some people and communities more than others, particularly those on low incomes as they spend a higher proportion of their incomes on energy and housing costs.

“This will worsen the inequalities that people were already facing and which were exacerbated by the pandemic.”

The local authority added that families were having to choose between paying their bills and deciding “what they can afford to put into a child’s lunchbox”.

A large number are already on Universal Credit but don’t meet the threshold for Free School Meals.

The funds are expected to be released this week with the aim of covering households until July.

It’s expected to help an additional 600 primary aged school kids who don’t already receive free school meals.

Cllr Catherine Faulks, Lead Member for Family and Children’s Services, said: “I know that many of our residents are worried about the rising cost of living, and we want to do everything we can to support those who can’t get help through other funding programmes or support schemes.

“Whether that’s new school shoes or a hot lunch, teachers know what will make the biggest difference in each of their schools.

“By giving them the freedom to spend it according to their pupils’ needs, we hope this funding will go as far as possible to help local families.”

Emily Caldwell, headteacher at Park Walk Primary School, said: “At Park Walk Primary school the additional funding will allow us to support families experiencing hardship as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

“The freedom of choice given to schools means that we can look at the best ways to allocate it to maximise benefits for pupils and families.”

Pictured top: Kensington town hall (Picture: Hannah Neary)