85,610
North East pupils eligible for free school meals
primary schools: 55%
secondary schools: 40%
other provision: 5%
29.8%
North East free school meal eligibility rate
England excl. London 23.4%,
among nine English regions
North East rate is highest
39.6%
Newcastle eligibility rate
highest in the North East
2nd: South Tyneside 31.8%
lowest:
Northumberland 22.2%
30.4%
North East primary school rate
secondary school rate: 27.8%
England excl. London
primary 23.8%
secondary 22.0%
Changes since 2015/16
+36,500
North East change 2015/16 to 2022/23
increase in eligibility
primary: +18,500
secondary: +16,100
+12.3 pp
seven year North East rate change
larger than change in
England excl. London
(+9.8 pp)
+16.0 pp
Newcastle pp rate change
highest change among
NE local authority areas
2nd: South Tyneside +12.6 pp
+12.2 pp
NE secondary school change
2015/16 to 2022/23
primary schools +12.0 pp
both higher than national pp increases
About the data
In January of each year, schools and local authorities are required to provide the DfE with a school census return covering a wide range of information on the characteristics of schools and the pupils within them. The data on this page is an output from this source.
Children in state-funded schools in England are entitled to receive free school meals if a parent or carer is in receipt of any of a range of benefits. These include Universal Credit; Income Support; other income-based allowances; and child and working tax credits.