Family income is an important factor associated with childrenâs educational achievement. However, key areas of UK research (for example, on socially segregated schooling) and policy (for example, the allocation of funding to schools) rely on childrenâs free school meal (FSM) âeligibilityâ to proxy family income. This article examines the relationship between childrenâs FSM âeligibilityâ and equivalent net household income in a nationally representative survey of England (the Family Resources Survey). It finds that children âeligibleâ for FSM are much more likely than other children to be in the lowest income households. However, only around oneâquarter to oneâhalf of them were in the lowest income households in 2004/5. This is principally because the receipt of meansâtested benefits (and tax credits) pushes children eligible for FSM up the household income distribution. The implications for key areas of research and policy are discussed.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411920903083111
展开▼