School Meals including Free School Meals

PLEASE NOTE -WE ARE A NUT FREE SCHOOL.

Any item within a packed lunch that contains nuts, including chocolate spreads, will be confiscated

Healthy eating and packed lunch boxes

Healthy Eating and Lunch boxes leaflet.pdf

Free School Meals

School dinners are now free for all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. However, we ask that all families that are eligible to apply for free school meals as the school receives significant additional funding for each of these pupils that is then used to enhance provision.

A website is now available where parents/carers where parents can quickly and easily check eligibility for free school meals and, if eligible, also gain some additional funding for the school, known as 'Pupil Premium'. These funds enable schools to take on additional staff and invest in additional equipment, resources and activities to benefit all children.

Please click on the link below to see if your child is eligible for Free School Meals.

ww.fsm.lgfl.net

If eligible, you are not obliged to accept the free school meals for your child if you wish to make other arrangements, but we do want to encourage applications as the additional funding gained would still benefit education provision at the school.

What the service does for parents:

After entering essential details into the web site, the online application process links to the Department for Education system for checking eligibility and gives and immediate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, and will notify the school.

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 parent s who are eligible apply for free meals for their child.

By way of a ‘thank you’ to parents for taking part, and regardless of individual outcomes, The London Grid for Learning (LGFL) would like to provide parents of children attending LGFL-connected school with Sophos Anti-Virus software, free of charge, to protect the computers used by pupils at home.

To gain access to this software there is a short registration process which will also give you access, if required, to other LGFL services and benefits that are available to your child’s school. Please be assured there is no catch, no cost and no advertising. LGFL (a UK education charity set up in 2001 and owned by London’s 33 local authorities) exists to support education and is leading this initiative to make it easier for parents to apply for free school meals and to encourage the drawdown of unclaimed Pupil Premium.

Please visit www.fsm.lgfl.net enter the necessary details and support this worthwhile initiative.

Enfield's free school meals application form

Free school meals application

Children in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2

All children in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 will be able to receive a free school meal. Choosing a school lunch for your child will save up to £400 per year. You must register your child for free school meals during the summer term to ensure the school receives extra funding.

Universal Free School Meal children in year 3 or above

Children in years 3 to 6

Free School Meals/

Pupil Premium Application Form

Apply for free school meals if your child/children attends an Enfield school, and you receive one of the benefits listed below:

Families who receive certain benefits may be eligible for free school meals, under one of the following categories:-

Expanded Free School Meals.

All children in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to Free School Meals, regardless of income.

Targeted Free School Meals

Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (£616.67 per month) • Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The guarantee element of Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit only (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual gross income of no more than £16,190. Working Tax Credit is a disqualifying benefit regardless of your household income – this means that you would not be entitled to free school meals whilst in receipt of Working Tax Credit • Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

Families who qualify for Targeted Free School Meals will also receive Holiday activity and Food Program vouchers (HAF vouchers).

Extra funding for your child’s school for Targeted Free School Meals.

Schools can claim additional funding from central government, known as the ‘Pupil Premium’ for those children who are eligible for Targeted Free School Meals. This additional money is used to ensure that children achieve academically and have full access to educational and cultural activities. However, it is for the school to decide how the money is spent. For more information, please ask at your child’s school.

School snacks guidelines

Most children require a snack at morning break to keep them going through the day.

We encourage children to bring in healthy snacks full of vitamins and minerals containing no added salt, fat or sugar. Many of these will help contribute to their 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables, keep them alert and help them concentrate. It can be hard during the week to think of suitable items for them to bring in to school, but we are aiming, with the help of the children, to not only support them in making healthy choices regarding snacks, but to also reduce food packaging and waste.

Providing snacks in a small, named, recyclable container is ideal. Children in EYFS and KS1 have a daily snack of fruit or veg provided for free by the government, so additional snacks for these ages may not be required.

If you are intending to send in healthy snacks with your child, please limit them to the list below.

Vegetable sticks – such as celery, cucumber, peppers or carrot, a range of colour ensures different vitamins and minerals.
A piece of cheddar cheese or Babybel
A piece of fresh or dried fruit, high in soluble fibre and vitamins would also be a great snack– pineapple, mango, kiwi, plain raisins, apricots, blueberries, banana slices.
Bread sticks, plain pretzels, banana bread, malt loaf, oat/rice cakes and small pitta breads are also good snacks, providing children with carbohydrate to sustain them in-between meals.
Homemade snack - flapjacks or other oat/whole grain based snack. These must be nut free. Items brought into school should be carefully checked by you, to ensure this. Meridian Angel has pupils who are severely allergic to a range of nuts.

We are aiming for a common-sense approach, with the key being to keep it healthy and no chocolate, sweets fizzy drinks or crisps.

We need the children to stay hydrated and so please ensure they bring a named water bottle into school daily. Squash and fruit juice are not permitted. We hope that with your help, we can encourage the children to develop healthy eating habits that become a normal part of everyday life. By keeping high calorie snacks to a minimum and establishing healthy eating habits early on, improvements can be made for a child’s quality of life both in the short and long term.

Meridian Angel Primary School