Free school meals and our canteen

The government gives extra funding to schools where there are students who qualify for a Free School Meal (FSM). Whether a pupil qualifies for a free school meal or not indicates whether extra funding is available to the school. Therefore, it is vital that all parents who are eligible for a Free School Meal (FSM) register to make sure their child and other students do not miss out.

The purpose and outcomes of this extra funding can be viewed by visiting the Pupil Premium web link.

As a school we encourage our families to apply for FSM that your child is entitled to as it could result in a saving of more than £350 a year as well as securing the extra funding for school, that your child and other students will benefit from. However, if you do not want your child to have the school meals, they can continue as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered school will still receive the funding. It is therefore the responsibility of parents to make the claim in order to ensure that students at Holy Trinity are able to access the provision made possible by the extra funding.

In the past there has been either a stigma attached to applying for free school meals or the process has been too complicated to follow. This is not the case now as the school has introduced an on-line checking of the qualification for FSM and has introduced a system of paying for school meals which does not identify those on free meals.

To enable a quicker, more efficient and safer way of paying for school meals, we operate a system of Cashless Catering. This allows students to add to their accounts by paying funds into the cash machines in school. It also automatically credits students on FSM. Students are identified at the dinner counter by a fingerprint and their meal is deducted from their account. It is not possible any more to distinguish between students on FSM and others. In the past, parents have rather misguidedly failed to claim a free meal because of a perceived stigma in doing so. This no longer is an issue.

To check if you qualify – it is not just if you are unemployed, please look at the list below. Registering is really quick and easy.