The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has announced it’s commissioning a new independent evaluation to look at the impact of the Mayor of London’s universal free school meals initiative on attainment and other outcomes, like attendance and well-being.

Earlier this year, Sadiq Khan announced £130 million of funding to give all primary school children in London access to free school meals in the academic year 2023 – 24.

The emergency provision from the Greater London Authority (GLA) aims to support families struggling as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. The GLA estimates that this initiative will make Free School Meals accessible to an additional 227,000 children across the capital.

The roll-out gives us an important opportunity to generate evidence around the provision of universal free school meals, particularly for older primary school pupils, and at scale.

The EEF is commissioning an independent evaluation of universal free school meals provision in London to measure its impact on pupil attainment and other outcomes, and in turn, build the evidence base in this area.

Find further information and express your interest in conducting this research here.

The deadline for submissions of interest is 5pm on 28^th April 2023.

Professor Becky Francis CBE, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Protecting the wellbeing and progress of all children, particularly those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, is of the utmost importance in these tricky times.