Due to the changes to educational provision caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the support in place for our children and families eligible for Free School Meals has been subject to review since March 2020. 

As a school we continue to think carefully about how to best meet the needs of our FSM community, implementing and adapting plans inline with changing local and national guidance.

Free Schools Meals Offer for January 2021 National Lockdown

As a result of national school closures in January 2021, the following was put in place for the children and families eligible for Free School Meals (FSM):

W/C 4th January: 

               For FSM children at home, free packed lunches available daily for collection from school

               For FSM children in school, a free cooked school lunch available

W/C 11th January for a 2 week period:

        For FSM children at home, £15 per week, per child, allocated as supermarket vouchers (Wonde)

        For FSM children in school, a free cooked school lunch available

W/C 25th January and ongoing for the period of national lockdown and remote learning:

        For FSM children at home, £15 per week, per child, sent as supermarket vouchers (EdenRed)

        For FSM children in school, a free cooked school lunch available

During February Half Term:

         All FSM children will receive a supermarket voucher for £15, per child for the week (EdenRed)

Free Schools Meals Offer for September 2020 to January 2021 

As a result of the Covid19 measures in place during the ongoing pandemic, the school had to close some class bubbles for periods of isolation during the autumn term. Some children also had to isolate due to contact with positive cases outside of school. In the event of a FSM child not being able to attend school in the autumn term, the following was put in place:

        In the event of a school bubble closure or period of self isolation:

       All FSM parents were contacted to inform them of the food parcels being available.

       These parcels were put together by the in-school catering team and were available to cover any           period of time that a FSM child could not access a meal in school.

       During October Half Term and the Christmas Holidays:  

       All eligible families were allocated supermarket vouchers (£15 per week, per FSM child)

Free Schools Meals Offer for March 2020 National Lockdown

As a result of national school closures in March 2020, the following was put in place for the children and families eligible for Free School Meals (FSM):

Week 1: For FSM children at home, free packed lunches available daily for collection from school

               For FSM children in school, a free cooked school lunch still available

Week 2: For FSM children at home, free packed lunch from school or £15 voucher for supermarket

              For FSM children in school, a free cooked school lunch still available

Week 3 onwards:  

              For FSM children at home, £15 per week, per child, allocated as supermarket vouchers

              For FSM children in school, a free cooked school lunch still available

Easter Break and beyond during closure (including May Half Term and Summer Holidays):

All eligible families allocated vouchers (£15 per week, per FSM child) on the national EdenRed system announced by the government. There were initially some delays in families receiving or being able to use the vouchers. A message has been sent for families to contact school if there are any issues with receiving or using vouchers, all issues were resolved. 

Additional support offered through Covid19 to PP and FSM children and families:

• Places offered in school where appropriate
• Weekly welfare and wellbeing calls home where appropriate
• Continued contact with social workers and other supporting external agencies
• Communication with teacher and home learning through Dojo and webpage system
• Laptop loans for children and families in need of access
• Paper packs of learning where preferred or needed
• Additional resources sent as required including reading books, workbooks, self help books for well being, clothing, and equipment to support learning such as bead strings and whiteboards.
• School funded vouchers for families awaiting update on FSM status due to changing circumstances
• Sanitary products offered for school and or home use
• Additional support made available where needed through the Covid19 Winter Grant Scheme for additional supermarket vouchers and/ or support with energy bills.

Letters have also been sent periodically to all families across school to allow all to check their eligibility and apply for FSM through the Pupil Premium Grant.