Dear Parents and Carers,

Today has been very frustrating for head teachers, school admin teams and no doubt, for you as parents as well.  Across Liverpool and the country, schools have been trying everything they can to ensure the parents receive a Free School Meal voucher (£15 per child per week).  You helped us with this by providing an e-mail address, which we submitted last week.  The system states that today is the 'delivery date', but as yet I understand the vouchers have not been sent.  This could happen at any time, but I am becoming less confident that they will arrive today.

I am deeply frustrated and we will continue to do everything we can to resolve the situation.  I have reported the issue to the Local Authority and am aware that many other head teachers and parents are experiencing the same problem.  Unfortunately the government system does not seem to be working properly at present.

When the e-mails are sent to our parents, you should be sent a code, which you then use, following the instructions, to create a voucher for the supermarket of your choice.  I tried this system out this morning and there was an issue with Morrison's in that they only allowed multiples of £10, therefore I could not spend £15 at Morrison's.  If you have 2 children (£30) you would be able to use that for Morrison's (3 x £10).  I have raised this issue with the Local Authority.  However, I did manage to create a £15 voucher at ASDA.  When you receive your voucher, if you have the same problem, you could either try to generate a £10 Morrison's voucher, or you could create a £15 voucher for ASDA or another store.

This problem may be resolved tomorrow so it is worth trying Morrison's first if that is your most convenient store to use.

I am so sorry that parents have been left expecting a voucher to allow them to go shopping today, only to be left waiting with frustration.  This is beyond our control.  As soon as I am given any information, I will update this page and we will do everything we can to help parents and carers with any issues.

Kind regards,

Rob Simpson

(Head Teacher)