The Government gives money to schools to help children from lower income families do their very best. This funding is called ‘Pupil Premium’.

We receive additional funding for the school year for every child that is eligible for the Pupil Premium  

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium in ways which they consider will enhance the education of the targeted children. At Send, this additional funding allows us to provide an even better education for all children so that they achieve their best. 

If a child qualifies for the Pupil Premium, they are able to access additional support in school. They can keep accessing this support for a further 6 years, regardless of how long they remain directly eligible for Pupil Premium. At Send some of the additional support available is:

• Free school meals
• Reduced cost, or free access to after-school and enrichment activities 
• Support with cost of residential visits 
• Vouchers for school uniform if required
• Supermarket vouchers for school holidays (funded by Surrey County Council) 
• Vouchers for school holiday activity camps (funded by Surrey County Council) 

Please read on to find out how to check if you are eligible and if so, how to apply for this financial support.

Families entitled to certain benefits and/or with a low income

Your child is eligible for free school meals if you’re in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, before benefits are taken into account.
• 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
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190

Looked After and Previously Looked After Children

Your child is eligible for free school meals if they are classed as a 'Looked After' or have been 'Previously Looked After'.  A child who has been in the care of their local authority for more than 24 hours is known as a looked-after child. Looked after children are also often referred to as children in care, a term which many children and young people prefer. There are a variety of reasons why children and young people enter care.

• The child’s parents might have agreed to this – for example, if they are too unwell to look after their child or if their child has a disability and needs respite care.
• The child could be an unaccompanied asylum seeker, with no responsible adult to care for them.
• Children's services may have intervened because they felt the child was at significant risk of harm. If this is the case the child is usually the subject of a court-made legal order.

  Looked after children are:

• Living with foster parents
• Living in a residential children's home or
• Living in residential settings like schools or secure units.

Children from Service Families 

Your child is eligible for free school meals if they are classed as a 'Service Pupil'. These are children who:

• One of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service)
• They have been registered as a ‘Service child’ on a school census in the past six years
• One of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
• one of their parents is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England

Ex Service personnel should tell the school if they left the armed forces within the last six years. Under the DfE’s ever measure, schools will continue to receive SPP for up to six years for children whose parent(s) left the armed forces, provided the children were recorded as Service children in a school census (prior to their parent(s) leaving the forces). The ever measure also applies when Service parents divorce or separate or when a Service parent dies in service.

Service parents need to make the school aware of their status by talking to the head teacher or school admin staff.

Children from families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)

If you are a family with NRPF, you may be able to apply for free school meals if you fall into one of the following categories:.

• Zambrano
• Article 8 of the ECHR
• Section 4 of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999
• Chen
• BN(O) Passport holder
• Spousal visa holder
• Work visa holder
• Student visa holder
• Other (will be considered case by case)

To be eligible, your family's annual household income must be no higher than the following:

• £22,700 for families outside of London with one child
• £26,300 for families outside of London with two or more children

This includes any wider income or support you may be receiving in addition to any earnings from employment. You will be asked to provide documentation to show this.

How to apply for Pupil Premium

If the following criteria apply to you and/or your child:

• Family entitled to benefits and/ or a low income family
• Looked After or Previously Looked After Children 
• Service Families 

Then you should complete the Pupil Premium Application Form found below. Please print, scan or take a picture of it and hand it to the office or email it to info@sendcofe.co.uk 

 

If the following criteria apply to you and/or your child:

• Zambrano
• Article 8 of the ECHR
• Section 4 of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999
• Chen
• BN(O) Passport holder
• Spousal visa holder
• Work visa holder
• Student visa holder 
• Other (with NRPF)

Then you should complete the Application form for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) found below. Please print, scan or take a picture of it and hand it to the office or email it to info@sendcofe.co.uk 

What happens then?

Checking eligibility for Pupil Premium is really quick and easy. If you are not sure whether you are eligible, it is better to check so that you can be sure, there is nothing to loose! We will we be able to let you know within a day or two if you are eligible. 

If you want your child to have a free, healthy meal at lunchtime that’s great – they will get the free meal, saving you more than £350 a year. If you don’t want your child to have the free school meals, they can have a packed lunch from home – as long as you qualify and are registered, you can still access the other benefits with Pupil Premium.

No one will know you have registered for Pupil Premium and it will not affect any other benefits you are claiming.

The information that you supply to register for Pupil Premium will be treated in confidence and will only be used for the purpose of establishing entitlement to Pupil Premium and to contact other sources, as allowed by law, to verify your initial and continuing entitlement.