free_meal

Registered for Free School Meal

Value label	Value	Absolute frequency	Relative frequency
No	0	4431	85.94%
Yes	1	725	14.06%
	Total	5156	100.0%

What else is Understanding Society doing?

Photo of family walking their dog in the countryside

Children’s worries include good grades and rising prices

Children’s average happiness is lower across six aspects of life in 2022/23 compared to 2009/10

30 Oct 2025

Calendar Year 2023 data now available

The latest release of our Calendar Year datasets can now be accessed via the UK Data Service.

22 Oct 2025

Professor Annette Jäckle debates survey methods on BBC Radio 4

The Deputy Director of Understanding Society, Professor Annette Jäckle, has featured on a BBC Radio 4 programme to unpick the reality behind a recent headline about young people.

15 Oct 2025

Young people’s aspirations rise with parents’ income

Our capacity to plan for the future shapes our lives, and is affected by family wealth.

14 Oct 2025

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ESRC Institute for Social and Economic Research University of Essex

The Economic and Social Research Council is the primary funder of the study
The Study is led by a team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex.