Commenting on the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) review of evidence and discussion on the Free School Meals (FSM) measure in the National Pupil Database report, NFER Research Director, Jenna Julius said:
“We welcome today’s EPI new review of the evidence and discussion on the Free School Meals (FSM) measure which builds on our recent NFER research on measuring pupil disadvantage.
“This review includes a detailed discussion of many of the recommendations which emerged from a roundtable which NFER convened in 2022 of experts involved in policy and research on economic disadvantage and education. The roundtable discussion highlighted that action is needed to ensure we can continue to hold the Government to account for progress in reducing the gap and improving outcomes of pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.