Children are still hungry after school dinners, says commissioner

• ITV Wales journalist Gwennan Campbell reports

More than 80% of children say they are still hungry after eating a meal provided at school, according to a survey by the children's commissioner.

The survey of young people aged between four and 18 also found that nearly half of the children are denied more food when they ask for it.

Rocio Cifuentes, the commissioner responsible for children in Wales, said her research shows that the Welsh Government needs to make a "significant investment" into school meals.

Corey Baker, who teaches at a school in Cardiff, said more children have been accessing school meals since they've become free.

The teacher said: "Where I used to have 20-50% of my class accessing free school meals I now seeing a massive increase.

"They come back and they're not lethargic, they're ready to learn.

"It's almost like the cool thing accessing the school dinner, sitting there with their knives and forks, they really enjoy it.

"It's really important that we offer them the chance to have a hot dinner while they can. Not necessarily in our school, but in other circumstances you don't know if a child is going home to have a hot meal, especially with the cost of living crisis."

At lunchtime, the children ITV News Wales spoke to were mostly happy with their plates.

Favour said: "We get a lot of chances to eat healthy food but some of the little ones don't want to eat it but that's their choice."

But she said if she didn't have a good meal she "wouldn't be able to concentrate", adding: "Our school is really lucky because we get opportunities that other schools don't get."

Adrianna said if you're not full, "you can't concentrate on the lessons".

Gabriel added: "You'll be still thinking about being hungry, you won't be able to concentrate on your work."

He said when he saw the survey that other children were going hungry it made him feel "really lucky".

He added: "With other schools, I feel bad because they might not be as fortunate as us."

Karina said she felt she had enough food: "Not always but most of the time yeah."

When she wasn't full she said: "It'll make me feel a little bit sad because when my stomach's not full I get grumpy."

Commenting on the findings, the children's commissioner said: "I've heard concerns anecdotally about portion sizes being too small for lots of children, and these survey results confirm those concerns.

"The universal free school meals policy is fantastic, but it has to meet children’s needs in order to fulfil its full potential.

"The Government recognise that for many, this may be their only hot or substantial meal of the day, so we have to get this right and make sure that this significant investment by the Government is having the most positive effect possible on children’s lives.

"For us to do that, we have to listen to what children across Wales have told us. This isn't just about right to good food, but to healthy development, access to education, and mitigating the impacts of child poverty too."

The Welsh Government says the guidance on suggested portion sizes in primary and secondary schools is due to be reviewed shortly.

=“As part of the consultation process we will be seeking the views of children and young people, parents and stakeholders about any changes we plan to make to school food and consider the most recent health recommendations for child nutrition, including portion sizes.”

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