Nursery Parents: Please apply for Free School Meals Funding

Free School Meals Funding – Now Open To Nursery Pupils

Dear Parents and Carers,

From April 2015 Nursery aged children will become eligible for Free School Meals funding - £300 per child. It is funding designed to help pupils ensure they are ready to start school and make the maximum progress when the enter Reception.

In order to claim this money for your children, we need parents to apply for Free School Meals status.

Why do we need you to do that Nursery children don’t stay for lunch?

It isn’t about food or school lunches. Free School Meals status is about identifying pupils and families who need support to ensure they get the most out of school life. Families eligible for Free School Meals are most at risk of not reaching national expectations by the end of Year 6 or achieving 5 GCSE grades A-C. Our school will get an extra £300 for every pupil eligible. This funding will then last for 6 years. Last year – including the full time pupils – we had funding of £245,000 to spend on your children. This is money that is spent on the children and which it has a direct and positive impact on their education.

We would like to make the benefits of Free School Meals status much clearer for you. Funding for schools based on Free School Meals has changed dramatically over the last year. Following our latest Governors meeting we would like to highlight what benefits you are eligible for if you apply and are successful:

Frequently asked questions?

What difference will it make to me?

1.     Contributions towards visits to the Nursery (we have had authors for the children, the Owl Man, the Bug Man). Due to this new stream of funding, we will be able to provide more workshops and visits to the school for your child with the Pupil Premium money.

2.     Support with school uniform

a.     We are able to use the Pupil Premium money to support you with the cost of school uniform. It is important that our pupils are dressed warmly, smartly and comfortably at school. It means they are able to concentrate on what they are here for… learning!

How will it help my child?

3.     Cultural Experiences

a.     Funding for Pupil Premium allows us to increase the number of cultural experiences that we can offer your children. Some have already been to visit an art museum this term. We run trips to see major West End productions – linked to Literacy – art galleries, the Royal Opera House, major London landmarks and the Olympic Park.

4.     Staffing

a.     With additional funding we would be able to provide more adult support for the Nursery: nurture groups, speech and language support, play supervision and phonics input.

WE WILL HELP YOU APPLY IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF YOUR ELIGIBILITY

Want more information? Come in for a chat and see Mrs Taylor

Benefits for everyone

Across the whole school, so far we have been able to organize a number of opportunities for a significant number of children, a large number of whom are not Free School Meals eligible. The Pupil Premium has fantastic potential for supporting all of the pupils at Broadford Primary… which is why it is so important that we have as many eligible parents and families sign up as possible.

• Author visits – we have had many visits. Anthony Lishake, Mike Spoor, Petr Horacek, Tom Banks and Jeremy Strong have all spent time with the children. These high quality author/illustrator visits help to inspire the children’s love of reading and writing.
• Performances, Drama & Pantomime. Every winter and Summer we have an in school theatre performance for all the children. Groups of children will also be invited to go up to London to experience the magic of a West End performance. Pupils have visited Mathilda, War Horse and many others.
• After school clubs – without the Pupil Premium funding we would not be able to offer free clubs for all of our pupils. No child/family has to pay and they are open for all. Although the Pupil Premium is targeted at Free School Meal eligible children, everyone gets to benefit from the opportunities available.
• Resources for school – some of the Pupil Premium money is being invested in school resources that will benefit all pupils for years to come: the canopy over Pine and Mulberry; the EYFS garden; the pathway around the main field; the Year 1 sandpit; new lunchtime resources. These costs would be unaffordable were it not for the Pupil Premium.

Eligibility

In order to claim Free School Meals, you must receive one of the following:

• income support
• income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income related employment and support allowance (EAS IR)
• support under part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and whose annual income (as assessed by the Revenue and Customs) does not exceed £16,190
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

How to apply

Come in and see Mrs Taylor with your National Insurance number and date of birth. We will check your eligibility there and then.

or

1) Complete this application form (on the back of this letter) and sign the declaration and agreement and return the form by post to:

Free School Meals, Customer Services, London Borough of Havering, Public Advice and Service Centre (PASC), The Liberty Centre, Romford, RM1 3RL

2) To make a telephone application call 01708 433929 for immediate eligibility confirmation given using the Free School Meals Eligibility Checking Service and early start date for Free School Meals. The Free School Meals Officer will contact you if there are any queries about your eligibility and to confirm the FSM start date.

Yours sincerely,

Mr M Drakes

Headteacher