Parents and carers in Plymouth are being urged to use the City Council’s simple, online eligibility and application service to check whether they’re eligible for free school meals for their children, which can save families over £400 per year for each child.
It is estimated that up to 20% of available free school meals are not applied for because people do not realise they are eligible.
Free school meals are automatically provided for all schoolchildren in a government funded school in Reception, Year 1, or Year 2.
After that, parents need to apply and free meals are available to many more families than are currently applying.
If a child has free school meals at primary school, this does not automatically carry on into secondary. So if your child has gone from Year 6 to Year 7 this September, you’ll need to make sure you apply. (Details of how to apply are at the end of this article).
A nourishing meal in the middle of the day helps children and young people to do well at school, and free school meals make a genuine saving in the household budget. Over the course of a year a family will spend around £437 on school lunches per child – free school meals would be a real saving.
Schools benefit financially as well: for every child registered for a free school meal the school receives extra income, (Pupil Premium), which helps the school provide more and better learning facilities for the children. It’s a real win-win!
Everyone with school aged children is encouraged to check eligibility and to apply.
Parents who have applied before and were not eligible can re-apply at any time – so if your circumstances have changed, now’s the time to apply again. And if your child has moved from primary to secondary and you haven’t set up free school meals yet, now’s the time to do it.
Checking eligibility and making an application is easy online at
https://new. plymouth.gov.uk/free-school-meals .
If you don’t have a good internet connection or need some help with the process, your child’s school should be happy to help you.
