My mentor at uni is amazing - others may not get the same help

Wider eligibility for free school meals could lead to stretched support for children who need help after leaving school, a leading charity has said.

The Social Mobility Foundation said the expanded support for children in school was welcome, but warned that availability for their mentoring scheme was already "limited" due to funding.

It comes after the government announced 500,000 more children would be eligible for free school meals from September next year.

The government said it did not fund the charity's mentoring scheme directly, but was committed to supporting more people from disadvantaged backgrounds in work and higher education.

Ministers have also said the changes to free school meal eligibility will "help families who need it most".

The Social Mobility Foundation provides a university and careers mentoring scheme to help young people who have been on free school meals or are the first in their families to go into higher education.

The charity said more government funding should be directed towards work experience and careers advice for those from lower-income households, to support people going to university who may not have the personal connections others might have which could help them find work in their chosen field afterwards.

Sarah Atkinson, the charity's chief executive, said more students becoming eligible for the scheme after receiving free school meals would mean "these places would be in even greater demand".

"The most incredible gift we can give people is our time and attention, and this scheme allows you to do that," she said.

"Mentoring is really precious because mentors don't want anything from these young people, except to help them achieve their ambitions."

Nimra Ahmeed, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, said she would have been "lost" without the mentor who has helped guide her through her time at university so far.

Now in her penultimate year studying law at the University of Manchester, 20-year-old Nimra said she hoped more awareness of schemes like the one she has benefited from would help take away the stigma around it.

"Some people might not want to reach out as they may feel it's something to be embarrassed about, but for me it's been so helpful," she said.

She said her mentor, 54-year-old solicitor Natalie Maloney, "took away how daunting it is going into [university] without knowing anything about it".

Natalie, who qualified as a solicitor in the 1990s and volunteers her time as a mentor, said the scheme was an important tool in maintaining a "level playing field" between students.

She said it was crucial to give "real talent" a chance within competitive working environments.

Her involvement in the scheme was borne out of her own experience of trying to break into the industry, as she was also the first in her family to go to university.

She claimed she was told by one firm that "we don't employ people like you", after a string of failed applications.

"That's why I am so passionate to help others - I know what it's like," she said.

The most recent government data suggests there has been a wider gap than ever before between the number of students who were eligible for free school meals at school, and the number of those who weren't, going on to study at university in recent years.

Analysis of longer-term data by the Office for National Statistics in 2022 also suggests those on free school meals traditionally go on to earn significantly less than their peers from higher-income households.

Social Mobility Foundation boss Sarah said that data was why she believes schemes like mentoring, which the charity has been running for two decades, were so important.

She said the scheme started when those in various corporate sectors realised they were missing out on "talented people" who simply didn't have connections to the industry.

And with more people receiving free school meals in the coming years, more are going to be eligible for the scheme's support as they leave school and enter the world of work, she said.

"The charity is doing a great job, but we need more help," she said.

"Talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn't."