Free School Meals and Pupil Premium

Free School Meals (FSM)

We encourage all families who are entitled to a free school meal to claim it. Parents/carers are entitled to claim free school meals for their child/children if they are deemed eligible for the support by the local council.

From September 2026 your child will be eligible for Free School Meals if you meet the criteria below:

Targeted FSM entitlement: families are in receipt of 

• Universal Credit where they have a household income of no more than £7,400
• the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit 
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 

Expanded FSM entitlement:families are in receipt of 

• Universal Credit with a household income of over £7,400 a year

Your child might also be eligible if you’re a family with no recourse to public funds and meet certain criteria.

All Pupils that are entitled to a free school meal will be able to take a lunch from our canteen on a daily basis without the need to request payment from their parent/carer. 

If you are deemed eligible for Targeted FSM you will also be entitled to the following additional support:

• access to holiday activities and food programme
• extra school funding called Pupil Premium

We would, therefore, encourage all parents/carers who qualify to claim the free school meals and take up the offer of a free school meal every day to save the family hundreds of pounds on lunches. 

Please note that all transitional protection has now ended, which means pupils will no longer qualify for any FSM entitlement if the household no longer qualify for the benefits listed above. FSM vouchers for school holiday periods have also now stopped from September 2026.

What is the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme?

The HAF programme is funded by the Department for Education to provide free fun holiday-enriching and physical activities with nutritious meals for children and young people (aged Reception to Year 11 inclusive) receiving benefits-related free school meals (on Targeted FSM).

The annual programme offered by the London Borough of Sutton will cover the spring (Easter) , summer, and winter (Christmas) holidays. Eligible families can apply for a total of 16 hours of provision a week. LBS will run the programme for:

• 1 week during Easter

• 4 weeks during summer, and

• 1 week during Christmas

Please note Sutton HAF does not run in the half terms.

Vouchers will be issued for eligible pupils before the relevant school break to enable families to book with registers providers. You can find out more on the London Borough of Sutton Holiday Activities and Food Programme pages

London Borough of Sutton HAF website

What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium grant is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England; that gives schools extra resources to help them meet challenges, including those arising from deprivation. 

It is allocated for schools to:

• improve the academic outcomes of disadvantaged students of all abilities

• close the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their peers across the country

Schools receive funding for each pupil premium student and can use the funding flexibly, in the best interests of eligible students. 

Which students are eligible to receive Pupil Premium funding?

Schools receive this additional funding for those pupils who fall within the below categories or have done so at any time within the last six years:

• those who qualify for Targeted free school meals (FSM)

• are receiving a child pension from the Ministry of Defence

• children from the families of services personnel (at any stage in the last four years)

• are a looked after child

• are adopted from care or have entered into special guardianship

• have a residence order

How Pupil Premium Funding is allocated

Sherwood Foundation School leaders draw upon an evidence based approach to apply a ‘tiered’ approach to delivering their pupil premium strategy.

Tier 1: supporting training and continuous development to improve the quality of all teaching

Tier 2: targeting support for disadvantaged students through one to one or small group tuition.

Tier 3: supporting strategies that develop learning outside of the classroom to promote the development of the whole student.

A longer term strategy

Since September 2019 schools are encouraged to include a reference to a multi-year strategy that outlines how the school aims to address the needs of disadvantaged students across all age ranges at the school. This will help school leaders to:

• Take a longer view of the support the grant will provide as students pass through the school

• Align their plans with the wider school improvement strategy

At Sherwood Foundation School, we are committed to our core vision of breaking the mould and reframing teaching and learning to realise the potential in every learner. 

We aim to celebrate, challenge and empower our students to belong, self-advocate and move forward with purpose, ready to succeed as adults.

Pupil Premium Strategy at Sherwood Foundation School

Pupil Premium funding is used primarily to address the following priorities:

• To provide relevant support to any disadvantaged learner to enable them to access our curriculum and learning to the best of their ability.

• To ensure disadvantaged students can access the same level of extra-curricular and life skills provided by the school, regardless of any additional cost.

We regularly review our Pupil Premium initiatives to ensure they are having a positive impact. Each year we plan priorities for this year’s expenditure based on the cohort of eligible students.

Any Questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact our main offices if you have any questions

Sherwood Park 

020 8773 99310  parkoffice@sherwoodfoundationschool.org.uk  

Sherwood Hill 

020 8669 7832  Hilloffice@sherwoodfoundationschool.org.uk 

Sherwood Manor 

0204628 0808  manoroffice@sherwoodfoundationschool.org.uk