Free School Meals

Is your child eligible for Free School Meals?

Are you claiming your entitlement to Free School Meals?

There has been much in the news recently about the new pupil premium and government policies to fund education both for nursery age children through Sure Start, primary and secondary education and onto Higher Education.Since September 2014 there have been two free school meal schemes - universal infant free school meals and income related free school meals.

As parents you need to know that registering for free school meals is increasingly important for two key reasons. You will be reassured that your child has access to healthy food at lunchtimes and is well nourished for learning in the afternoon. Additionally, the number of students registered will affect school funding; in these times of deep funding cuts to school and local authority budgets this will provide additional much needed funding to St Francis Xavier’s College and may affect the support your child may need to stay on into the Sixth Form or go on to university.

The big change is the focus on entitlement to free school meals rather than just claiming. Registering the entitlement for your child to have free school meals is accompanied by the Pupil Premium funding to schools which is currently worth £935.00 per student. This means St Francis Xavier’s College will have choices about continuing to fund small group work, one to one tuition or accessing programmes through external agencies, in addition to supporting individual and group projects, enrichment, sporting and extra-curricular activities for eligible students. With our biometric cashless catering system we can monitor students’ food choices. Most importantly students claiming free school meals are not identified in any way as different.

We suspect many students entitled to free school meals do not claim them. In the current economic climate where parents are being made redundant, working part time rather than full time or moving into an area with no job, this number must be rising.

St Francis Xavier’s College will only get the additional funding described above if students who are able to register for free school meals actually get registered and stay registered. This benefits students and what the school can do for students. We strongly urge you to register, especially when your circumstances change unexpectedly. This is important whether or not your child wishes to eat a school meal regularly; again we want to reassure you this is confidential. It is very important to St Francis Xavier’s College, in these tricky financial times, to have access to all of the possible funding in order to support learning as well as we can.

Free school meals

Since September 2014 there have been two free school meal schemes - universal infant free school meals and income related free school meals.

Universal infant free school meals

If your child attends a state funded infant school and is in reception class, year 1 or year 2 (key stage 1) they are entitled to free school meals regardless of your income. This could save you almost £400 a year for each child you have in key stage 1.

Income related free school meals

Schools and local authority nurseries

If you live in Liverpool and receive any of the following you can claim free school meals for your school-aged child. This is also applicable to nursery-aged children if they attend before and after lunch sessions at a local authority nursery school or nursery class:

  • Income Support.
  • Income based Jobseeker's Allowance.
  • Income related Employment Support Allowance.
  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
  • The guaranteed element of State 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 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
  • Universal Credit.

If you receive Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support there is no need to complete the form - just contact Liverpool Direct and they will update your details to include free school meals.

Note: If children are over 18 and still attend school, you can claim for free school meals if you receive any of the first three allowances listed above.

Foster parents already receive funding and are not eligible for free school meals.

How to claim

The application process below is for Liverpool City Council area residents only. If you live outside of the Liverpool City Council area please contact your own education authority.

Apply online for free school meals

This online application form checks whether your child is eligible and gives you an instant answer. Please visit

If you already receive free school meals and wish to register another child then please contact Liverpool.gov instead of completing the form again.

How are school meals paid?

If your claim is successful the school will be notified that your child can have free school meals. Schools will ensure that this information is treated with the strictest confidence and handled sensitively.

Change of circumstances

You must inform Liverpool Direct if your circumstances change. For example, if you no longer receive benefits, move house or change school, as this may affect your right to claim.

How to claim

Visit the website and apply online

We would like to say again if you think you are eligible, whether your child will use the free school meal regularly or not, please register as quickly as possible. The online application form is available by accessing the website from the address above. If you need any help completing an application please contact Miss Lindop Assistant Headteacher, telephone: 0151 288 1000, email: .

Useful Contact information

Online:

Telephone: 0800 0283697 or 0151 233 3009. Please note 0800 Freephone numbers are normally free of charge from landlines. Charges may apply from mobile phone providers. Please contact your service provider for more information.

Address: Liverpool City Council, Benefits Service, PO Box 13, Liverpool, L69 2JG

Minicom: 0151 225 3275. We also welcome Text Relay calls.

Downloads

1.Letter from the Head Teacher