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Plea to bring cash into schools by free meal take-up

Thursday, 7th March 2013.

SUFFOLK schools will miss out on up to £5million a year in extra Government funding if parents of children eligible for free school meals don't sign up.

Under the Government's 'pupil premium' scheme, schools get hundreds of pounds in extra funding for every eligible child.

Children are eligible if their parents are in receipt of certain benefits, or if they are entitled to free school meals.

The pupil premium is equivalent to £623 per child per year, increasing to £900 in April 2013, and can be used to increase teaching capacity and improve learning.

But official estimates suggest that as much as 32 per cent of those eligible in Suffolk don't take up the support. The funding could bring in a total of £4.9million a year to help Suffolk schools.

Cllr Graham Newman, Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for education and young people, has today pledged the authority's support to help schools and parents make sure Suffolk doesn't miss out.

He said: “It is difficult to overstate just how much of a win-win situation is created when eligible parents claim free school meals for their children.

“Not only do they save money, their children get a hot meal at lunchtime and the school benefits from significant sums of additional money.

"In the present financial climate, this is one way in which we can get additional funds into schools. While we have such a large amount of entitlement unclaimed, our pleas for schools to get more funding go largely unheard."

“Claiming free school meals for a child and then them taking it up each day is now a much more discreet process so people need not worry about any of the stigma that used to be associated with it.

“I’d urge anyone who believes they may be eligible to get in touch. It really could help them, their children and their school.”

Claiming free school meals is now a simple and more discreet process and a child’s eligibility can be checked using just three pieces of information.

Claiming free school meals can save parents up to £400 a year, in addition to providing their children with a hot meal at lunchtime which aids learning. Children don’t have to take the meal - but the school still gets the additional Government funding to support learning.

Haverhill Online News

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