SCHOOLS across Bradford could be losing out around £1.4 million each year because parents are not enrolling their children for free school dinners.

Schools are given a "pupil premium" grant for each child from a disadvantaged background, which can be used to help improve the children's performance.

However, to unlock the premium, parents on benefits, child tax credits or income support have to register for free school meals.

New estimates by Bradford Council show that around 1,300 pupils that would be entitled the premium are not registered.

If a pupil went through their entire primary school life without being registered, their school would lose out the equivalent of £9,100. Primary schools receive £1,300 per pupil and secondary schools £935.

A report into the issue will be discussed by Bradford Council's Children's Services Scrutiny committee tomorrow.

Although the report does not break down the numbers of eligible children not recieving the premium by primary or secondary school, if an average figure of £1,100 per pupil was adopted, then the district's schools would be losing out on £1.43 million a year.

Committee chairman Councillor Malcolm Sykes said: "If you average the pupil premium figures out then it's over a million a year the schools are losing out on.

"If we can get this money for our schools then it is worth spending a bob or two to promote it more to parents.

"If these parents never register their children while they are at school, you're talking about quite a bit of money.

"I really hope parents are not put off registering because they feel like they will be stigmatised. Maybe not everyone wants to advertise the fact that they don't have a lot of money."

The report, by assistant director of school improvement Paul Makin said the Council and schools worked hard to tell parents how important it was to make an application.

One issue raised by Mr Makin was that recent immigrant families often failed to register.

The report also points out that the recent Government policy of allowing all children under seven to get free school meals, regardless of their background, may put parents off registering young children as they are getting free meals either way.

Under current laws, councils are unable to automatically sign up pupils.

Across the district there are currently almost 30,000 pupils in reciept of the premium.