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Free School Meals

Free School Meals Uptake Targeted in Pilot Initiative between Western Education and Library Board and Advice NI

This initiative aims to target low income families who are unaware of the entitlement or indeed the value of claiming entitlement to Free School Meals and the annual School Uniform Allowance for post primary pupils.

It is estimated that as many as 8,000 children across Northern Ireland are missing out on this entitlement.  This could amount to as much as £50 per month for each child, where the parent/guardian fails to come forward to apply for their entitlement to Free School Meals.

Who is Entitled?

A pupil shall be entitled to free school meals where:

  • he/she or the parent/guardian is in receipt of Income Support or Income-Based Job Seekers Allowance;
  • the parent/guardian receives Child Tax Credit; and is ineligible for Working Tax Credit, because he/she works less than 16 hours per week; and has an annual taxable income of £15,575 or less;
  • the parent/guardian receives the ‘Guarantee’ element of State Pension Credit;
  • he/she has a statement of educational needs and is designated to require a special diet;
  • he/she is a boarder at a Special School;
  • he/she is the child of an Asylum Seeker supported by the Home Office National Asylum Support Service (NASS).

Parents/Guardians are reminded that the application process only requires the completion of a single application formfor both Free School Meals and School Uniform Allowances, which can be downloaded from www.welbni.org or obtained directly from the WELB’s Free School Meals Section on 028 8241 1496. The completed form should be sent directly to the Free School Meals Section of the WELB, where Officers will undertake to verify entitlement with the relevant authorities where appropriate, on the applicant’s behalf.

The Initiative was launched on Thursday 29 May by the Western Education and Library Board in partnership with Advice NI, aimed at increasing the uptake of Free School Meals and School Uniform Allowances amongst eligible school children across Western Board schools.

The WELB acknowledges that this is a major concern and would urge parents/guardians to come forward and claim their entitlement to Free School Meals and the annual School Uniform Allowance.  It is accepted that a child’s capacity to learn is positively impacted by availing of a daily hot meal and for so many children to be losing out on this entitlement remains a concern. 

In addition to this, schools are also impacted financially through loss of vital funding to improve the educational outcomes for children. If parents/guardians were to take the step of establishing entitlement to Free School Meals with the Board, this would significantly help their school in terms of additional funding.  For every child verified as entitled to Free School Meals, this attracts on average, additional funding of £436 per child for individual schools.

Speaking at the launch, WELB’s Head of Administration and Management Division, Adrian Kennedy said:

“The Board acknowledges that this complex issue cannot be addressed in isolation and despite the best efforts of Officers, Principals and Boards of Governors to encourage parents/guardians to come forward and take up their entitlement, there still remains a significant lack of uptake. We are therefore keen to explore every available opportunity to promote and encourage uptake amongst low income families. 

The WELB, in partnership with Advice NI, are hugely committed to addressing the situation and this initiative marks the beginning of a drive to ensure that eligible children receive the support to which they are entitled.  It is for this reason that we welcome the pro-active engagement of Advice NI who are vastly experienced in ‘benefit uptake initiatives’ and it is hoped that their direct involvement will make a real difference.”

Advice NI is the umbrella body for Independent Advice Centres across Northern Ireland. These centres deal with over 213,000 enquiries per year with the bulk of enquiries being Social Security Benefit related.

Speaking about the new partnership approach, Kevin Higgins, Head of Policy and Research with Advice NI, said:

“Advice NI welcomes the pro-active approach taken by the Officers of the Western Board on such an important issue.  Our members tackle child poverty on a daily basis by trying to ensure that families access all the support and entitlements available to them - this partnership builds on this proven track record. Given the significant increase in food prices and cost of living generally over recent months, there is considerable extra pressure on families trying to make ends meet. This initiative will seek to ensure that children have access to at least one hot meal per day and that parents/guardians avail of the financial contribution towards the cost of school clothing for post primary pupils.”

By way of example:  In a typical family with one child of primary school age and one of post primary school age, this family would be incurring expenditure unnecessarily to the sum of:

  • £90 per month towards the cost of a daily school meal for both children; and
  • A minimum of £70 annually, towards the cost of the school uniform for the post primary child.

Both WELB and Advice NI believe that the vast numbers failing to come forward to apply for their entitlement toFree School Meals and School Uniform Allowances is also contributing to child poverty.

The following are the telephone numbers for the other Boards:-

  • Belfast Education and Library Board 028 9056 4000
  • Free School Meals and Clothing (Benefits Section) 028 9056 4239
  • North Eastern Education and Library Board 028 2565 3333
  • Free School Meals and Clothing (Benefits Section) 028 2566 2571
  • South Eastern Education and Library Board 028 9056 6200
  • Free School Meals and Clothing (Benefits Section) 028 9056 6319
  • Southern Education and Library Board 028 3751 2200
  • Free School Meals and Clothing (Benefits Section) 028 3751 2523

 

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