Why 14,000 more Cornwall children now get free school meals

If your family gets Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, your child may already be getting free school lunches without you having filled in a single form.

That’s down to a change Cornwall Council made over the summer. Since then, 14,000 more children have been signed up for free school meals, and the Council says those families are saving £6.9m a year between them.

How the Auto Award works

The Free School Meals (FSM) Auto Award started in July. Families used to have to apply themselves. Now the Council checks information it already holds to see which children qualify.

It looks at children who go to a school in Cornwall and whose household is already claiming free school meals, or gets Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support from the Council. If a child qualifies, they’re signed up automatically.

The first round of checks found 14,000 children who might not have been getting free meals before. That’s worth about £495 a year per child.

It brings the total to 17,485 children across Cornwall now getting free school meals.

What it means for Cornish schools

The money doesn’t stop with families. Schools get government “pupil premium” funding based on how many of their pupils get free school meals, so more sign-ups mean more money for Cornish schools.

The Council says the extra 14,000 children will bring schools an additional £11.9m. A child’s free school meals status can attract pupil premium for up to six years, so over that period the Council puts the extra funding at around £71.3 million.

Cllr Hilary Frank, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families, said:

“It’s fantastic news that 14,000 more children across Cornwall will now receive free school meals, without their families having to fill in any paperwork. That could save families nearly £500 a year per child, helping to ease the pressure on household budgets. It will also bring substantial additional pupil premium funding into Cornish schools, helping them provide extra support where it is most needed.”

Why the rules changed this September

The Council set up the Auto Award before new Department for Education rules came in this September.

Under those rules, every household on Universal Credit is now eligible for free school meals. The household income threshold is gone. Free school meals are also no longer protected once they’re awarded, so eligibility will be checked again at the start of each academic year.

The Council says it will run its automatic checks each term, which should mean fewer families have to reapply every year.

Targeted and expanded free school meals

According to the Council’s website, the income figure still makes a difference in some ways. If your household is on Universal Credit with earnings under £7,400, your child gets a free school meal, a free place on the Time2Move Holiday Programme during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays, and their school gets pupil premium funding.

If your household is on Universal Credit with earnings above £7,400, your child gets a free school meal only.

What to do if you think your child qualifies

Families the Council thought might be eligible were contacted in July. You don’t need to reply unless you want to opt out. The letter explains how to do that.

If you weren’t contacted, or your circumstances change, you can still apply at any time through the Council’s Parent Portal. You’ll need to apply that way if you don’t get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support from the Council.

If you think a letter should have reached you but it didn’t, the Council may not have your up-to-date details. You can update your contact information for free school meals online.

The school meals team can be reached on 01872 324295 or at [email protected]. There’s more detail on the School Meals pages of the Council’s website.

📷Primary school kids at a table in school cafeteria, close up