Helping families in poverty to access Free School Meals with Citizens UK

Would you like to learn more about how you can help ensure vulnerable families in our communities are not missing out on the free school meals they could access?

The Mayor of London recently announced that every London primary school pupil can access free school meals next academic year. This is welcome news! However, the Mayor of London's scheme ends in September 2024. So we want to consider meal provision and pupil premium funding beyond the next academic year, as well as provision in our secondary schools.

With this in mind, the Diocese of London’s Compassionate Communities Team and the London Diocesan Board for Schools are partnering with Citizens UK to provide a short online training which will help us understand an important change to government policy on free school meals.

This change is that since April 2022, families with “no resource to public funds” (NRPF) because of their immigration status can apply for their children to have free school meals. Previously they were cut off from this, as with most other welfare support, but there has been a government policy change.

This training will:

• help us understand this important change to government policy on free school meals
• help us understand how to ensure eligible children don't lose their funding after September 2024 when the Mayor of London's free school meals provision ends
• share case studies of schools who have helped NRPF parents to access free school meals, and who have accessed pupil premium funding
• provide an opportunity for Q&A.

As church and school communities we can help to spread this message so that more people know about this change, and can take up this offer if eligible.

“I invite you to join me in attending a short online training session, where speakers from Citizens UK will help us to understand this recent change to government policy on free school meals, so that we can help more families in poverty to access this provision.”

The Right Revd Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell Bishop of Stepney, Diocese of London

There is no charge for the training and EVERYONE is welcome. This training may be particularly relevant for Headteachers, governors, business managers and pastoral care leads in our church schools.

This is a shared event between the Diocese of London’s Compassionate Communities Team , the London Diocesan Board for Schools and Citizens UK. We will therefore share details between the partner organisations purely for the purpose of the event administration, and follow up communications on free school meals.

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