The amount of children who receive Free School Meals (FSM) is a misleading indicator of a school’s socio-economic composition, Catholic academics have warned in response to critics of faith schools.
Researchers at St Mary’s University Twickenham have released a report revealing that data published by the Department for Education, only includes the number of children who receive free meals rather than the number who are eligible.
The report, entitled The Take-up of Free School Meals in Catholic Schools in England and Wales, highlights that while according to FSM figures there are a comparatively low number of pupils from deprived backgrounds in Catholic schools, alternative deprivation barometers such the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index shows that children from deprived backgrounds are in fact over represented in Catholic schools.
