Chippenham's MP Duncan Hames joined Ivy Lane infants at the dining table for their first free school lunch.

All five to seven-year-olds became entitled to free school meals for the first time on September 4, in a move the Children’s Society has hailed as “a positive first step in the fight against child poverty”.

They said 160,000 more children in poverty, including 970 in Wiltshire, would be entitled to free school meals as a result of the scheme, which allocates £2.30 a child per meal.

Mr Hames tucked into roast chicken and fresh fruit with the kids in the Chippenham primary school’s newly refurbished hall.

He said: “It’s great that more than 15,000 children here in Wiltshire will now see the benefits of a hot, healthy lunch at school.

“Delivering the policy has not always been straightforward, and I’m glad so many headteachers have embraced it, knowing that there is good evidence that it will help their pupils learn.”

He said a pilot scheme showed children who were entitled to free school meals made two months’ more progress than their peers elsewhere and were better behaved.

Over the next few Wednesdays, parents are invited to dine with their children at Ivy Lane.

Deputy head Steve Rafferty said: “The scheme has made it easier for our families, giving every child an opportunity to have a nutritious meal.”