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Dear Parent/Carer
Free School Meals
During the current difficult economic climate we would like to encourage all parents and carers who are entitled to Free School Meals for their children to make a claim.
The cashless system in the canteen is operating well so claiming free school meals will be entirely anonymous. School lunches cost about £400 per child when parents/carers are paying for them. Three children is over £1000 (or a holiday) and once one child is eligible they all are.
The amount of money the education authority allocates to spend on the education of our students is partially dependent on the number of students who claim Free School Meals. Ashlawn School is losing out on funds solely due to the fact that a large number of students are not claiming what they are entitled to.
Students are entitled to claim Free School Meals if their parents:
- receive Income Support (including disability benefit and sickness benefit)
- receive Income Based Jobseekers Allowance
- receive Child Tax Credits and have a gross annual income below £16040 (but not if you are allowed to claim Working Tax Credit)
- receive the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- receive support under Part vi of the immigration and asylum act
- receive the Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related)
To get Free School Meals you do not need to fill in any forms. You can ring the Customer Service Centre on 01926 742060 quoting your National Insurance number and Date of Birth. They will be able to check your eligibility over the phone immediately.
To encourage as many parents and carers as possible to go to the trouble of claiming Free School Meals this year we are offering a £15 Tesco gift voucher (up to the end of Feb 2010). Although we will spend some money on the vouchers, if every parent that could claim does claim we will receive a much larger school budget next year to spend on the education of our students. We are looking at it as an investment.
We will automatically send out the Tesco vouchers to every parent that claims Free School meals when we receive confirmation from the local authority. We will send the voucher home with your child unless you contact us to tell us you would rather collect it.
If you are unsure and need further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 01788 573425.
Yours sincerely
Sharron Cranmer
Assistant Headteacher
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