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<p>The Government announced in September 2013 that state-funded schools will be required
to offer free school meals to infant pupils from September 2014, giving schools a
full year to put arrangements in place. We know from the universal free school meal
pilots, in which schools were required to provide meals to all infant pupils and all
key stage 2 pupils, that it is possible for schools to prepare to implement this policy
with much less notice.</p><p>In order to help schools to implement universal infant
free school meals in September 2014 we have put in place a national support service,
run by school food experts. The assistance available through that service includes
a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and intensive face-to-face support.
We are also providing additional funding of £22.5 million to help small schools with
the transition to providing meals for all their infant pupils.</p>
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