High free school meals percentage - how does this affect the school?

[ElizabethTaylor17]

Hello. I am starting looking at secondary schools for my daughter for a 2027 start. We live near the Wandsworth / Merton border in SW London.

Looking at the free school meals numbers for the schools we are in catchment for, they are around 26-32% which compares to her primary school where the figure is 10%.

The 25-30% figure is similar to my own secondary school where I was bullied for trying hard / wanting to succeed at school and for being “posh” (I’m not!)

I know there will be a range of children from each background who want to work hard. But obviously my own experience colours the decisions I might make for my own children.

For those of you at schools with these levels of FSM, how have you found the experience?

Thank you

The school will have a lots of additional funding!

Its national average.
It will increase next year when its expanded to all families on UC.

Thank you. It feels like a big difference to her primary school. And I know The Sutton Trust did a report saying that the most successful schools tend to have lower FSM percentages.

Isn't it quite common numbers?

They look to be not far over the national average but it is a big difference from her primary school (and the other two local primary schools which are popular have a FSM rate of 7%).

You need to look at the results for different ability levels. That’s a more important stat.

Look at the (historic) Progress 8 scores and the attainment scores from last few years, compared to local average. This will tell you how successful the school is.

But yes, on average, children on PP do worse than children not on PP. Thats partly why the school gets extra funding, to help improve the outcomes for these children

I think I am surprised because the houses in this area are £1m+, as they are everywhere in inner London, and when I googled the threshold for FSM it says less than £7400 household income.

But how big is the catchment? In London a council estate with a few tower blocks can be very close to the million pound estates

Yes the catchments are much bigger than primary where they are tiny. So I see your point. I just look at the FSM figures for schools in Richmond or Kingston borough for example and worry we moved to the wrong place.

Yes, what @Anditstartedagain says! This will be worth hundreds of thousands to the school.

You may be surprised how much social housing there will be tucked in among those million quid houses. That's London for you.

The eligibility for FSM is weird and kids are included in those figures if they were eligible for FSM in the last 6 years so it's not always a very good representation of need. Lots of kids who are living in poverty in real terms aren't eligible for FSM as the amount you need to earn is incredibly low. Most kids who's parents are on UC aren't eligible for example which is why it's changing as this is a problem.
A lot of children become eligible when parents for eg can't work due to illness for a period of time and they fall within the eligibility criteria and are allowed to stay on until the end of that education period, even if their parents are back in work and earning lots.
Also 30% is a small number. Schools in deprived areas of London have 50%+ on FSM and kids starting with very low attainment, high percentage of EAL and lots of other social issues like persistent absence etc.
There are also lots of schools in those areas that are incredibly pushy and academic and it is cool to try hard. Some of the highest performing schools in the country are now in places with the highest deprivation index so it's not always a given. My DD went to a number of schools and the one where the kids had the attitude of not bothering to try, was actually the poshest one. Obv this is anecdotal and you have a valid reason to worry but try to look at a broader range of stats and see the school. Does it have a PTA, does it have a wide range of clubs, trips etc. parental involvement is by far the best indicator of how the kids will do and their attitude.
Also, in places like London you will find that some families in social housing are able to live a much more comfortable life with more disposable income than those in those very expensive homes. Mortgages and private rent cripple disposable income and the rate of kids living in poverty jumps massively in London, once housing costs are taken into account and you can apply for FSM even if you can't get UC so it's not as black and white as it may seem.

Thank you for your very informative post @Foxesandsquirrels we might just about scrape catchment for Ashcroft which would fit with the model you describe (high FSM and over 50% EAL but high achieving). But it’s an incredibly different environment, in terms of ethos, to her primary.

And also the persistent absence is very high from two of our three catchment secondaries (c22%). To me that is a huge amount of children not being encouraged/facilitated to go to school consistently. Fundamentally it just feels like all options are demographically very different to her primary. I don’t know if other London/city parents feel similarly.

What do you mean by catchment? There is no catchment in most schools in London. The distance criteria is all based on historical distance of kids last attended. If you can get into Ashcroft you can probably get into Ricards Lodge etc.
22% is probably the average which yes is very depressing and why there's such a push on attendance from the government. Most London city parents feel the same as you, yeap.

Of course, the demographics change at secondary as so many people who can afford those houses send their kids to private school or move.

My DD goes to a London secondary school with over half the girls on free school meals, after coming from a primary school with 10 percent or so on FSM. It is a wonderful, very high-performing school, with an absurd number of kids with straight 8s and 9s at GCSEs. There are lots of kids who are from very different backgrounds from my DD, and though she's not necessarily good friends with them, I like that she now knows her neighbours and community.

Don't judge the kids on their family background; look at the progress scores for the school, results, behaviour, etc.

@Foxesandsquirrels Sorry I’m using catchment to mean the distance places were offered over the last few years.

Yes we would get Ricards I think but that is one of the schools that has surprised me with the numbers of FSM and persistent absence.

and thank you for confirming I’m not alone in feeling like this!

Thank you @inickjeeves I looked at the leavers destinations for our local two primaries and it is c15% of children going private each year.

Thank you @CurlewKate can I ask if you know how to find this out? I am using the Compare School Performance page on the gov.uk website but cannot see how to filter by high prior attainers

For performance I’m looking at Grade 5 or above in English and Maths and Attainment 8 score but would be keen to know from parents further into the process whether there are more important key measures

Towards the bottom of the results page there's a tab for "results by pupil characteristics". Its got boy vs girls, PP etc.

You won't find Prior Attainment for this years results, you need to look at previous results due to the No SATs in 2020-2022.

That is so helpful thank you. I’ve been using the comparison table but can see there’s more information if you select the school itself.

I makes a vast improvement to the funding of the school.

It also means the school will likely have far more problems with behaviour and other social issues and higher SEN needs. The two shouldn't automatically be linked, and there are of course families who don't fall into those categories, but they are.

@ElizabethTaylor17 Where are her friends considering? People who are like you will be thinking the same as you on terms of wanting the best for dc.

You're in a unique area where a lot of families do go to private or grammar. Have you actually seen RL in person? I think in such a large school you'll be surprised by how % doesn't really do much. It's a very leafy comp by all accounts but I've just looked at the other school you mentioned and they have an incredibly high pass rate!

Hi @OhDear111 I am starting to have these conversations but I think some parents keep their cards close to their chests if they are going private! Looking at Leavers Destinations from my primary there are plenty of families staying in the state system so that is reassuring