Measuring the success of Universal Free School Meals
Why measure success
The Mayor's Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) policy is a cost-of-living intervention that aims to alleviate financial pressures on families.
To measure the success of UFSM and build on current evidence, the Mayor of London committed to support an evaluation of the UFSM programme during 2023-24 to:
- understand the outcomes associated with the policy for children and families across London
- maximise the learning from regional policy implementation
- contribute to the evidence base on universal approaches to school food provision.
Our approach for monitoring and evaluation
The Theory of Change model for UFSM was developed by Bremner & Co and funded by Impact on Urban Health. Further to this, an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) conducted in May 2023 highlighted the potential impacts of the policy for 2023-24 and informed our approach to monitoring and evaluation for this period. The IIA was updated to inform the policy extension in year two; it has now been refreshed again, to inform year three.
The monitoring and evaluation strategy looks at:
- the uptake of Free School Meals
- insights from key stakeholders
- lived experience evaluation
- implementation evaluation
- long-term impact evaluation.
The GLA is working with Arbor, a Management Information System provider. Arbor provides Management Information Systems (MIS) to over 5,000 schools across the country, with 231 of those being in London. There are a total of 42,329 pupils in Arbor’s school sample (covering Years 3 to 6). This is 11 per cent of the total school population in Y3 to Y6 (388,606).
Arbor will share high-level data on their schools across boroughs to help the GLA understand the percentage of children having a free school meal throughout the year, in relation to Arbor’s sample.
The GLA is conducting research with head teachers and parents throughout the year to understand:
- experiences and understanding of the policy
- initial impacts on families and schools.
Lived experience evaluation
Impact on Urban Health have commissioned Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), supported by Reconnect London, to do qualitative research with pupils, families and school staff in a sample of schools across London boroughs.
They will also carry out extra research with families in community settings and with CPAG’s London Family Panel.
The research will assess, from children and family perspectives, the impact of the policy on:
- household finances
- food security
- family health and wellbeing outcomes
- school life.
Impact on Urban Health have commissioned a mixed methods study from ICF, in partnership with Public Health Nutrition Research, Dr Michael Nelson. This evaluation will explore how the policy has been implemented.
This study will assess the implementation context, policy mechanisms, and barriers and enablers to implementation through:
- desk research and document review
- an online survey to London primary schools
- engagement with London boroughs and other key stakeholders
- a set of case studies in a sample of schools.
Education Endowment Foundation have commissioned University College London (UCL) to do an impact evaluation. This focuses on a range of outcome measures, including:
- pupil attainment and attendance
- behaviour
- concentration
- wellbeing
- household financial distress
- household supermarket expenditure.
They will combine this with an implementation and process evaluation to explore the effects of universal free school meal provision, at both a school and household level. This will involve:
- an analysis of school meal uptake
- surveys of headteachers and parents/carers
- visits to schools, including observations, interviews with head teachers and parents, and focus groups with teachers and pupils.
The Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) process is a tool for identifying potential impacts associated with the Mayor’s UFSM scheme. The IIA includes ways to avoid and mitigate any adverse impacts, and enhance the benefits of the scheme. The purpose of the IIA is to promote better integration of social, environmental and economic considerations in the development of key policies and programmes.
Evaluation partners
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