Free School Meals
What are Free School Meals?
A number of parents at KAA will qualify for what is known as “Free School Meals” (FSM). Like all academies, it is very important for us that we have the maximum number of eligible parents registered for FSM because it will increase the funding we receive from the central government and local authority. We therefore encourage parents to apply if they feel there is a possibility they might qualify; currently there is £500,000 of unclaimed FSM funding in Kensington & Chelsea schools, which is a real shame!
As well as being able to provide a healthy, hot meal every day for your child, free school meals funding also allows the school to buy additional classroom resources to support learning for all children at KAA so we encourage all parents who believe that they are eligible to make a claim to do so.
Who qualifies for FSM?
Your child qualifies for Free School Meals if you or their other parent/carer are receiving:
o Income Support
o Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
o Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
o The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
o Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
o Child Tax Credit-provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income that does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs)
o Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
o Universal Credit
How do I apply for FSM?
You can apply online at www.fsm.lgfl.net.
You can also use this website to quickly and easily check eligibility for free school meals and, if eligible, also gain welcome additional funding for the school, known as ‘Pupil Premium’.
This system is being provided to encourage parents to apply and take advantage of free school meals while at the same time increasing the benefit to schools from Pupil Premium funding, a substantial amount of which does not reach schools because not all parents who are eligible apply for free meals for their child. After entering essential details into the website, the online application process links to the Department for Education system for checking eligibility and gives an immediate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, and will notify us.