Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Registration Form

Each Free School Meal Means More Money for your school.

Sheffield City Council wants to make sure that every child who qualifies for a free school meal can have one. Also, we want to make sure that each Sheffield school gets the right amount of money from the Government to support all of their pupils.  Put simply, the more free school meals that schools have, the more money schools get. You can help us to get the right money for schools by filling in this form. It helps the council decide which families can get free school meals and therefore special funding called Pupil Premium. There is more information about Pupil Premium below and why it’s so important for children, young people and schools.

Also, if you qualify for free school meals, you could save around £400 per child per year by not having to pay for a packed lunch.

 

Do I Qualify for Free School Meals?

Your child could have a free school meal, if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit (you need to have an annual net earned income of £7,400 or below, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and support Allowance
• Support from NASS (National Asylum Support Service) under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit with a yearly household income of less than £16,190 (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) and do not get Working Tax Credit run-on (paid 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

 

Note: This application form is for income-based free school meals only, if you need to apply for another reason (e.g. NRPF) please contact Customer Services on the telephone number below.

How Do I Apply for Free School Meals

You can do this online at:  https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/schools-childcare/school-meals

or you can ask your school to help you.

You can complete the form overleaf and return it to your child’s current school.

For further information please contact Sheffield City Council Customer Services on   0114  2734567 (option 4, then option 3)

      

What is Pupil Premium?  

The Government gives schools money over and above their usual budget to support any children who may need individual support. This money is called Pupil Premium and the amount a school gets is based on the number of free school meals they have in school.  Each free school meal could raise an extra £1,455 per year for Primary pupils and £1,035 for Secondary pupils. This amount is then paid to schools for a further five years. It is used to boost pupils’ learning and pay for valuable support like extra teaching sessions, more teaching staff or after school activities. Below are some examples of how schools use their Pupil Premium money:

• Extra one-to-one or small group sessions for children within the classroom.
• Employing extra teaching assistants to work with classes.
• Running catch-up sessions for children who need extra help with maths or reading.
• Running a school breakfast club which encourages pupils to get to schools early and have something to eat before they start their school day.
• Paying for educational trips and visits that all pupils can join in with.
• Putting more money into schools that help improve children’s learning, such as laptops or tablets.

(Source – https://www.theschoolrun.com/pupil-premium-explained)

 

You can find out from your school’s website how they spend their pupil premium.

 

 

How the information on the application form will be used

The information you give the council on the form will only be used to confirm whether a free school meal has been awarded and therefore whether Pupil Premium will be given.

You only need to complete this form once and it will last all the way through your child’s education in Sheffield.  If your child moves to another state funded school in Sheffield they will be told that you qualify for a free school meal.  If you move out of city, we may be contacted by your child’s new school or local authority to confirm if you have Free School Meal status.

We are committed to ensuring that the personal and sensitive information that we hold about you is protected and kept safe and secure, and we have measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.  For further information please ask your school for a copy of their Privacy Notice.

If your school is helping you to claim for free school meals, this agreement will be kept by the school for their records.

Pupil Premium and Free School Meals Registration Form - available at the foot of this page.