Free School Meals

If you receive certain benefits your child may be entitled to a free school meal at lunchtime.

Children who are entitled to free school meals may also receive:

• Help with the costs towards residential trips.
• Help with travel costs to school.
• Help with school uniform costs.

If your child is entitled to free school meals their school can receive extra financial help called the pupil premium.  This is currently worth £1,320 per child for pupils in Reception Year through to Year 6.

All children in the Reception Year, Year 1 and Year 2 receive a free school meal.  However it is still important for you to complete an application in order for your child's school to be eligible to receive the additional benefits above.

Your child will also be able to get free school meals if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, as long as you do not get a Working Tax Credit and do not have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenues and Customs) that exceeds £16,190.
• Working Tax Credit run-on paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit.
• Universal Credit.

To check if you are eligible please call 01473 260989

If your child is eligible, you can apply online at www.suffolk.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals (or click on the link below). If your child is about to start school full-time and you already have an older child receiving a free school meal, you do not need to fill in a new application form.

What is the Service Pupil Premium?

The Department for Education introduced the Service Pupil Premium (SPP) in April 2011 in recognition of the specific challenges children from service families face and as part of the commitment to delivering the armed forces covenant.

State schools, academies and free schools in England, which have children of service families in school years Reception to Year 11, can receive the SPP funding. It is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these children may need and is currently worth £300 per service child who meets the eligibility criteria.

Service personnel with children in state schools in England only have until 17 January 2019 to notify schools of their children’s eligibility for the Service Pupil Premium (SPP).

Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.