Parents urged to take up free school meals by 5 January

Local councils are urging parents whose children attend a local secondary school to check if they are eligible for free school meals. Not only will parents save money on school lunches, but schools will depend on registration to collect their "pupil premium" of £600 per eligible pupil.

The funding allocated to each school for the 2012-13 financial year depends on the number of children registered as entitled to receive free school meals. With money being cut from elsewhere in the education budget, schools are desperate to encourage parents to register for free school meals, even if they don't want the lunch itself. Parents by 5 January could also save up to £360 a year on their school lunch costs.

The pupil premium helps schools to provide support such as extra tuition, learning assistants or after-school clubs. Altough Highgate is often thought of as an affluent area, there are still likely to be eligible pupils in all tree local boroughs who have not previously registered for free school meals.

Cllr Richard Watts, Islington Council's executive member for children and families says, "We urge parents to check if they are eligible – our schools will benefit and families will save money. Some of the increased pupil premium will come from money cut from other education grants, so it is vital that schools collect every penny that they are eligible for."

London MEP Sarah Ludford adds, "This money will go towards making our education system more equitable. As a Liberal Democrat, I believe that in a fair society, a Government should work to overcome this disadvantage and help children reach their full potential. The money will be ploughed into additional tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents."

Free school meals registration forms are available from schools or from the following pages:

www.islington.gov.uk/freemeals

www.haringey.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals.htm

www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/education/schools/pupil-benefits-and-allowances/free-school-meals.en