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The first day of term for many infant schoolchildren today marked the real start of the Government’s action to offer every single child in the first three years of school a free school lunch.

The launch follows an announcement made by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg last year to help every child from every background get the best possible start in life.

He said the move means that 1.89m children in reception, year 1 and year 2 at 16,500 schools will be able to eat a free, nutritious meal at lunchtime, saving families up to £400 per year and helping children to do better in the classroom and improve their daily diet.

“Results from pilot studies showed that where children were given free school meals they were found to be up to twp months ahead of their peers elsewhere in maths and English. They were also more likely to eat vegetables, rather than unhealthy snacks like crisps.

“That’s why I’ve made it a personal priority to give all infant children free school meals and I’m delighted that we are seeing this being rolled out across the country from the start of this school year.

“All the evidence, including the pilots in Durham and Newham, shows that free school meals will not only help ease the pressure on household budgets and encourage positive eating, but will also help improve concentration and raise educational performance so that, regardless of their background, every child can have the best possible start in life.

“This is one of most progressive changes to our school system for a long time so there’ll always be critics, but that won’t cloud my goal to create a level playing field for all of our children so their success will be determined by their talents and efforts alone and not by their parents’ bank balance.”

The government has provided more than £1bn to meet the costs of the meals over the next two years and has also made £150m of capital available to schools and local authorities to help them build new kitchens or increase dining capacity where necessary.

A further £22.5m has been provided specifically to help smaller schools provide free school meals and a dedicated support service has also been set up to offer advice and help.

Schools Minister David Laws said: “Today, our goal to offer every infant child a healthy, tasty school meal has become a reality – a move that will put money back in parents’ pockets while ensuring all children get the best possible start in life.

“The evidence is clear. Providing children with nutritious and delicious meals gives them the fuel they need to excel both inside and outside the classroom, while making them more likely to opt for fruit and vegetables at lunchtime rather than junk food such as crisps.

“Schools across the country have done a truly fantastic job in preparing for this important milestone, supported by over £1bn of government funding over the next two years.

“Together, we will make sure that this landmark achievement delivers for pupils’ health, their attainment, and for their hard-working families.”

Universal Infant Free School Meals for primary school pupils was a key recommendation in a review of school food produced independently for the Department for Education.

The School Food Plan, published by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent in July 2013, recommended that government embark on a phased roll out of free school meals for all children in all primary schools.