Free School Meals

Your child may be able to get free school meals if you receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• Income-based Job-seekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit

Children who receive any of the above benefits in their own right (i.e. they receive benefits payments directly, instead of through a parent or carer) can also receive free school meals.

In addition to this, being in receipt of a free school meal also means that your child will qualify for ‘pupil premium’ and this will also bring with it some additional benefits for your child.

Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil premium funding is paid directly to the school and we decide how it is used to meet our students’ needs. We also produce documentation to show how we plan to spend the monies and why we have chosen to spend them in this way. We use the pupil premium to make sure that those in receipt of the funding continue to have high attainment, continue to make excellent progress and to ensure that there is no gap between them and their non-pupil premium peers.

The Pupil Premium is the name of the fund given directly to schools to support students who receive free school meals, who are in public care, or young people whose parents are members of the Armed Forces. All schools receive additional funding for each child covered by the Pupil Premium. These funds are in addition to the main school budget and are allocated on the basis of the number of students who qualify for Pupil Premium assistance.

The purpose of the funding is to ensure that these children and young people are not disadvantaged in school and to find ways to support them to do their best. Neither the government nor its agencies dictate how the funding should be spent, but the aim is always to narrow and close the achievement gap between these students and their peers.

We want to spend this money to make the maximum possible impact on the achievement of Pupil Premium students.

Pupils may be eligible if they:

• Every child currently registered as eligible for free school meals (FSM)
• Every child who has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years
• Looked-after children (LAC) defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority
• Children who have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order
• Children who have a parent currently serving in the armed forces

We offer every student who is eligible for this support the following promise:

• Access to £50 to provide uniform and school equipment, if it is felt that the absence of these is hindering progress. This money will be held by the Finance Department but can be claimed by parents/carers by contacting the Assistant Headteacher. All such requests will be treated with the strictest confidence.
• Intensive tracking and monitoring of pupils’ progress; access to vocational courses where appropriate; and the option to personalise a student’s timetable if it is felt necessary.
• An increased meal subsidy per day; including a free breakfast for those pupils eligible for FSM.
• Guaranteed small group work in English and Maths for PP students who are in danger of underachieving.
• Enhanced curriculum intervention for more able PP students.
• Enhanced pastoral support from the Pupil Premium Champion
• Financial support for curriculum trips out of school.
• Revision courses and guides where appropriate for KS4 students.
• Enhanced Careers, University information and guidance for students in KS4.
• Individual help in Key Stage 5 in applying for further education or planning student destinations.
• A range of extra-curricular events

For further information on Pupil Premium at Brighouse High School please refer to the document at the bottom of this page.