Pupil Premium: Funding and Accountability

FREE SCHOOL MEALS AND PUPIL PREMIUM

Have your circumstances changed?

Is your child now eligible for free school meals?

If your income is limited or your circumstances have changed since you last checked your eligibility, you may now be entitled to Free School Meals for your child and other benefits.  You can apply on-line at http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/

If you qualify for government free school meals under the benefit criteria your eligibility will be confirmed to you as well as your child’s school.  

Who qualifies for government free school meals?

Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

• Universal credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
• Income support
• Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of pension credit
• Child tax credit (provided you’re not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working tax credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit.

Even if your child does not want to have school meals, the benefits of registering your eligibility go way beyond free dinners.  For example, anyone registered for a free school meal is entitled to a reduction in the cost of residential school visits and may also be entitled to remissions for other school activities (in accordance with the school’s Charging and Remission Policy). During, and for some time after the pandemic, parents of children who were eligible for free school meals also received food vouchers to cover the cost of their child’s lunches in school holiday periods. Checking your eligibility now would ensure your child didn’t miss out on any future schemes. Many eligible families have used the HAF scheme vouchers to access free holiday clubs over the summer and this scheme continues in all main holiday periods (excluding half-term breaks).

In addition to this, for every registered pupil entitled to free school meals, the school receives a lump sum of additional funding (known as Pupil Premium) which the school can then spend on ensuring your child makes really good progress. We publish on our website site how spend our Pupil Premium funding.

We are specifically asking parents and guardians of pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, who think they might be eligible for Free School Meals, to complete the on-line form despite the Universal Infant Free School Meal Offer.  We will then be able to confirm whether the school is entitled to claim the Pupil Premium for your child.  No child or family will be discriminated against because they receive this benefit.  Whichever way you look at it there is a lot to be gained by making an application.  Please feel free to contact us if you would like further information or access to a computer to make your application.

Please do make an application if you think you might be eligible. School budgets have been further stretched recently by the increase in the cost of living, particularly in respect of our energy costs, and support right now in making an application if you are eligible is needed more than ever!