Attainment, leaver destinations and healthy living: summary statistics

A new version of this publication was published on the 9 September 2019. This revision is a result of corrections made to statistics on school meals. For the most recent version of this publication please go to www.gov.scot/publications/attainment-leaver-destinations-healthy-living-summary-statistics.


Chapter 5: School meals

  • 37.4 per cent (255,758) of pupils were registered for free school meals (37.6 per cent in 2017).
  • Of those registered for free school meals and present on the survey day 79.5 per cent took a free meal (81.0 per cent in 2017).
  • Of those pupils present on the survey day 55.0 per cent took a meal (free or paid for) supplied by the school (56.9 per cent in 2017).

In 2012, a new Healthy Living Survey was introduced which incorporated the old school meals survey and new questions on Physical Education. This is an annual survey, normally collected in February each year, from all publicly funded schools in Scotland. The school meal part of this survey collects information on the uptake of meals, both free and paid for, and registration for and uptake of free school meals. Only meals taken at lunchtime are included. Breakfast clubs are not included. The latest Healthy Living survey was conducted in the week beginning 19 February 2018.

Information on levels of free school meal registration and school meal uptake is used to monitor the impact of Scottish Government policies around reducing deprivation and promoting healthy eating. In recent years, the Government has taken two actions intended to extend free school meal eligibility. These are:

  • The extension of free school meal eligibility to include all children in primary 1-3 from January 2015.
  • The extension of free school meal eligibility in August 2009 to include children whose parents or carers are in receipt of both maximum child tax credit and maximum working tax credit.

For the purposes of this collection it is assumed that all P1-P3 pupils are registered for free school meals.

  • In 2018 37.4 per cent of the total school roll was registered for free school meals, which is similar to the 37.6 per cent registered in 2017.
  • The percentage of pupils present on the survey day who took a meal (free or paid for) supplied by the school decreased from 56.9 per cent in 2017 to 55.0 per cent in 2018 (Table 9a).
  • The percentage of P1-P3 pupils present on the survey day who took a free school meal decreased from 81.2 per cent in 2017 to 79.6 per cent in 2018.
  • The total number of P1-P3 pupils taking a free school meal decreased by 3,664 from 134,042 in 2017 to 130,378 in 2018 (Table 9b).

As the national criteria for free school meal eligibility is largely based on the receipt of benefits, statistics on free school meal registrations from the Healthy Living Survey have been used as a measure of deprivation. However, several factors need to be taken into account when using the statistics in this way, particularly for primary and special schools. See background notes for more information on the use of these statistics as a measure of deprivation.

As an alternative to using the percentage of pupils registered for free school meals as a measure of deprivation, statistics on the percentage of pupils in each school who live in the 20 per cent most deprived data zones in Scotland are now available in the school contact list: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/Datasets/contactdetails

School meals data by Urban Rural classification, size of school and local authority are available in the supplementary tables. A list of the tables available is in the background notes section. School level information on school meals is also available. This can be found at the following address: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/SchoolMealsDatasets

Table 9a: Number and percentage of pupils taking school meals (free or paid for) and registered for and taking free school meals by sector, 2013 to 2018

Number
Pupils registered for free meals 2013 a 2014 b 2015 c,d 2016 2017 2018
Primary 81,364 77,791 213,199 212,175 212,235 211,405
Secondary 45,018 44,224 41,744 39,280 38,841 39,750
Special 4,203 4,373 4,498 3,681 4,155 4,603
Total 130,585 126,388 259,441 255,136 255,231 255,758
Pupils registered and present taking free meals
Primary 65,717 63,986 162,799 166,454 165,027 160,542
Secondary 28,249 27,739 26,264 24,811 23,911 24,019
Special 3,576 3,719 3,607 2,899 3,418 3,551
Total 97,542 95,444 192,670 194,164 192,356 188,112
Pupils present and taking meals (free or paid for)
Primary 186,271 192,666 237,404 246,821 246,162 235,387
Secondary 113,587 115,150 111,562 114,586 110,288 108,816
Special 5,204 5,206 4,875 4,511 4,375 4,525
Total 305,062 313,022 353,841 365,918 360,825 348,728
Percentage
Pupils registered for free meals 2013 a 2014 b 2015 c,d 2016 2017 2018
Primary 22.0 20.6 55.3 54.1 53.4 52.7
Secondary 15.5 15.5 15.0 14.2 14.1 14.4
Special 59.4 60.7 63.0 55.7 66.2 68.1
Total 19.6 18.8 38.7 37.8 37.6 37.4
Pupils registered and present taking free meals
Primary 88.4 88.7 80.5 82.7 82.1 80.5
Secondary 74.7 76.6 76.4 73.9 73.4 72.8
Special 94.7 94.8 90.3 89.8 91.3 86.6
Total 84.2 85.0 80.1 81.5 81.0 79.5
Pupils present and taking meals (free or paid for)
Primary 53.2 53.2 64.6 66.0 65.0 61.9
Secondary 43.7 44.4 44.2 45.8 44.3 43.9
Special 83.1 81.7 78.0 77.7 78.0 75.7
Total 49.5 49.8 56.5 58.1 56.9 55.0

a. In 2013, the Healthy Living Survey was carried out in March due to publicity around the presence of horse meat in some food products.
b. In 2014, primary school free meal registrations were affected by a reduction in the number of local authorities with local initiatives.
c. On 5 January 2015, the Scottish Government launched the extension of free school meals eligibility to include all children in P1-P3.
d. Figures on percentage uptake that were originally published were amended in June 2016. See background notes for details.

Table 9b: Primary pupils taking school meals (free or paid for) and registered for and taking free school meals by sector, 2013 to 2018

Number
2013 a 2014 b 2015 c,d 2016 2017 2018
Pupils registered for free meals
P1-P3 # # 172,284 172,912 173,020 172,361
P4-P7 # # 40,915 39,263 39,215 39,044
Total Primary (P1-P7) 81,364 77,791 213,199 212,175 212,235 211,405
Pupils registered and present taking free meals
P1-P3 # # 129,674 134,667 134,042 130,378
P4-P7 # # 33,125 31,787 30,985 30,164
Total Primary (P1-P7) 65,717 63,986 162,799 166,454 165,027 160,542
Pupils present and taking meals (free or paid for)
P1-P3 # # 129,674 134,667 134,042 130,378
P4-P7 # # 107,730 112,154 112,120 105,009
Total Primary (P1-P7) 186,271 192,666 237,404 246,821 246,162 235,387
Percentage
2013 a 2014 b 2015 c,d 2016 2017 2018
Pupils registered for free meals
P1-P3 # # 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
P4-P7 # # 19.2 17.9 17.5 17.1
Total Primary (P1-P7) 22.0 20.6 55.3 54.1 53.4 52.7
Pupils registered and present taking free meals
P1-P3 # # 78.9 81.7 81.2 79.6
P4-P7 # # 87.5 87.3 86.2 84.4
Total Primary (P1-P7) 88.4 88.7 80.5 82.7 82.1 80.5
Pupils present and taking meals (free or paid for)
P1-P3 # # 78.9 81.7 81.2 79.6
P4-P7 # # 53.1 53.7 52.4 48.5
Total Primary (P1-P7) 53.2 53.2 64.6 66.0 65.0 61.9

a. In 2013, the Healthy Living Survey was carried out in March due to publicity around the presence of horse meat in some food products.
b. In 2014, primary school free meal registrations were affected by a reduction in the number of local authorities with local initiatives.
c. On 5 January 2015, the Scottish Government launched the extension of free school meals eligibility to include all children in P1-P3.
d. Figures on percentage uptake that were originally published were amended in June 2016. See background notes for details.

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