Free School Meals (FSM)

Free School Meals (FSM)

The following guidance applies to schools only. Early Years settings, please contact the Early Years Team in Family Services – Tel: 0800 389 8312 or PVI Email: eyfunding@barnet.gov.uk School Email: eyschoolsfunding@barnet.gov.uk.

We cannot answer any FSM queries from parents. All queries regarding Free School Meals must come via the school.

Guidance

Full guidance can be found at the following link:

 A letter template for use by schools to inform parents can be found on the following link:

Template for ad hoc checks

In addition to the Free School Meals ID check using schools’ Census data, we help to confirm whether an individual pupil is entitled to FSM to ensure that the school can provide free school meals to those children who are eligible and wish to receive school lunches. We can check one or two over the phone: please phone Layli Arasteh (020 8359 3268). However, if you have more than a few to check, please enter the details into an Excel spread-sheet and send it via USO-FX to Layli Arasteh and Karanjit Dhami. Requests for checking cannot be sent via email as they contain personal data.

An example of how the spreadsheet should look is below:

COLUMN A

COLUMN B

COLUMN C

COLUMN D

NI Number

Leave Blank

DOB

Surname (or just first 3 letters)

SG223344A

 

12/04/2014

Smith

SG223344A

 

12/04/2014

Fox

If you are unsure of any item of data (e.g., which surname to use in a double-barrelled surname) simply enter the same data on a second line with the other option. Save the spreadsheet with the name of your school and the date in the title. When we receive it, we upload it, and the system will automatically check for entitlements.

The database is a ‘live’ database and when the information comes back to us, it states the result as ‘True’ or ‘False’, i.e., ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether they are entitled to FSM as at today’s date. It does not provide any historical information or any additional information.

The database is fed with information from the Department of Work and Pensions. Therefore, a new claimant may not show up until two weeks after they have been accepted by the DWP, so it is wise to check again after a few weeks, if you think that it is a new, recent claimant.

If you need any further clarification or help, please phone or email Layli Arasteh (layli.arasteh@barnet.gov.uk), Tel: 020 8359 3268, or Karanjit Dhami (karanjit.dhami@barnet.gov.uk), Tel: 020 8359 3047. If you reach voicemail, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

 

Providing families with free school meals to families with no resource to public funds (NRPF)

Free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), has been permanently extended, subject to maximum income thresholds.

Schools and local authorities are not able to use the eligibility checking system (ECS) to confirm eligibility for these families as the family will not be in receipt of Universal Credit or legacy benefits.

Eligible groups

These groups include, but may not be limited to children of:

  • Zambrano carers
  • families who have no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
  • families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are also subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction
  • a subset of failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Chen carers
  • families holding a BN(O) passport
  • spousal visa holders
  • work visa holders
  • student visa holders
  • those with no immigration status

The maximum income threshold differs based on the family’s location and the number of children that the family have.

We have provided a sample application form, including a self-declaration that you can provide to families and carers for verifying eligibility.

Recording eligible pupils

You should record eligible free school meals pupils who qualify through the NRPF criteria in the termly school census, in the same way as all other free school meals pupils.

Additional Information

The checking exercise for Census returns will be run in October and January (but not May). Ad-hoc checks are available throughout the year.
 

Last updated 1 October 2022