Free School Meals

The most common reason a pupil receives Pupil Premium funding at our school is because they are eligible for means‑tested Free School Meals (FSM). Your child may qualify for pupil premium funding if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Income Support (IS)
• Income‑based (not contribution based) Jobseeker’s Allowance (IBJSA)
• The Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Income‑related Employment and Support Allowance (Children who receive IS or IBJSA in their own right are also entitled to receive free school meals.)
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
• Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190
• Where they are entitled to Child Tax Credit and also Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment ceases, or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are entitled to free school meals.

All pupils in Reception/KS1 will receive a free school meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meals Scheme. However, if you receive the benefits above, your child can still receive pupil premium funding, which will enable them to receive a free school meal when they move into KS2. For the school to receive this funding, you must fill in all the details on the free school meal application form below.

Service Children

Children of armed service personnel are also eligible. Pupils are eligible for the premium if they meet the following criteria:

• One of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces.

• One of their parents served in the regular armed forces in the last 3 years.

• One of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil is in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS).

‘Looked After’ Children

Children who have been in local authority care for one day or more are also eligible for pupil premium funding. Funding for these pupils is not paid to the school; it is paid to the virtual school head (VSH) in the local authority that looks after the child. VSHs are responsible for managing pupil premium funding for looked after children.

Previously ‘Looked After’ Children

Schools will also receive funding for each pupil who has left local-authority care because of one of the following:

• Adoption
• A special guardianship order
• A child arrangements order
• A residence order

If you are eligible to receive Pupil Premium, please complete the application form below and return it to the school office as soon as possible. This information will be treated confidentially.

Please note that the government state: “School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practise. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium. Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across 3 areas: teaching, targeted support and wider strategies.” This means that the funding we receive is not ring-fenced to the individual pupils in receipt of pupil premium, and is used to benefit the cohort of disadvantaged pupils.

If you would like to apply for a Free School Meal and Pupil Premium Grant, please complete the application form below and send it to office@stokepoges.school.