Claiming FREE SCHOOL MEALS helps you and your child in TWO important ways:
There are two ways in which your child could be entitled to a Free School Meal:
Universal Free School Meals - FREE SCHOOL MEALS for Rec, Y1, Y2
EVERY child in Reception, Y1 and Y2 is currently entitled to a Free School Meal. However, when a child's parents are entitled to certain benefits (such as Income Support, Universal Credit etc.) the child is also entitled to 'Pupil Premium'. This is money that is paid to the school enabling us to provide additional support and resources for the improvement of the child's education. For Nursery children, this equates to £302 per child per year, and £1900 in Y1/Y2 so it is really important to our school that we receive Pupil Premium money to further improve the quality of education we can provide.
Free School Meals in Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6 (Juniors)
When the children move from Y2 into Y3, they are no longer entitled to an automatic Free School Meal. At this point, if the parents / carers are entitled to the relevant benefits, the local authority continue to provide a Free School Meal, which also means that the school receive pupil premium of £1900 per year to further support the child's learning. For example, this money could be used to employ an additional teaching assistant who can target support for a child entitled to Pupil Premium, or to fund exciting trips and clubs to support learning across a range of subjects.
It is therefore really important that parents / carers check to find out whether they qualify for Free School Meals. Please click the link at the top of the page to apply, or come in to the school office where we can help (please bring your national insurance number).