Schools missed out on £100m in funding as more than 100,000 of rise came after new cut-off of October
The number of children in England receiving free school meals has soared to more than 1.7 million, including more than 1 million aged between four and 11, official data shows.
Figures from the annual school census show a rise from 1.44 million, or 17.3% of all pupils, in January last year to 1.74 million, nearly 21%, in January this year.
