FSM Eligibility Checking

[djrscally]

Hello

 

I've been asked to look into a system that checks FSM eligibility of parents on an ongoing basis. I.E. uses data you hold in your MIS and checks against the government's FSM Eligibility checking service weekly or something for each parent you have in your MIS to see if they've become eligible, and highlights those to you.

 

Anyone ever heard of such a thing? I've searched but all I can find are either totally bespoke (LGFL's) or are still a manual form and don't seem to have any benefit over just encouraging parents to use the LEA's form (OFSM).

[GREED]

Would you, not being the parent/person, be allowed to check that eligibility given they need to enter their details into a system? Not sure you would.

 

Given GDPR coming, you'd need to gain consent from parents to allow this, to check on their behalf... What are you going to do with that information if you were to get it?

 

The better thing to do would be to have a system that does the check for the parent, sends them off to the appropriate place to sign up for FSM, and then to also inform the school.

[djrscally]

Would you, not being the parent/person, be allowed to check that eligibility given they need to enter their details into a system? Not sure you would.

 

Not without their permission, but the idea is obviously to ask for that. Whether people will give it to us I sort of doubt; at the moment I'm just trying to check if this is even a thing.

 

Given GDPR coming, you'd need to gain consent from parents to allow this, to check on their behalf... What are you going to do with that information if you were to get it?

 

The better thing to do would be to have a system that does the check for the parent, sends them off to the appropriate place to sign up for FSM, and then to also inform the school.

 

Yeah that already exists on the LEA's websites; the problem is that there are some people who don't bother checking. In our case my guess is it costs us about £35k a year, so the idea was if our MIS can automatically check then that might capture those students to.

 

Non-uptake of FSM can be up to about 30% of the eligible families apparently.

[matt40k]

It's a stupid process. The government provides an web service to check your (the parent) FSM eligibility. If your child gets free school meals by default, why bother? For some gift card thing that you can only spend in a overpriced school clothing shop? Still cheaper to buy school clothes from the supermarkets. So no parent bothers, so the school get no extra funding - I joked (in a serious way) about schools giving out £50 amazon gift cards to parents who bother.

 

The ideal solution is the government just tells the school and gives them the money. They already have the data. They already know. Fine you might have, say 14% that you couldn't be sure - but you could ask them to confirm - or even don't bother. IMHO reason they don't, they (central government) don't want to pay the dosh.

[GrumbleDook]

Would you, not being the parent/person, be allowed to check that eligibility given they need to enter their details into a system? Not sure you would.

 

Given GDPR coming, you'd need to gain consent from parents to allow this, to check on their behalf... What are you going to do with that information if you were to get it?

 

The better thing to do would be to have a system that does the check for the parent, sends them off to the appropriate place to sign up for FSM, and then to also inform the school.

 

This is where you stray into the rules around automation ...

 

You may have justification for this but I believe that advice from DfE would be needed before deciding what is appropriate and available (I have raised the question already).

[GrumbleDook]

It frustrates me that some of the funding (30 hours for nursery) for some groups should not have to be checked every 3 months (adoptive parents) but you do ... it is almost as if the system is set up so that unless you do the work you automatically miss out and it saves some money!

 

But that would be a cynical thing to say.

[PhilNeal]

I'm pretty sure there is a third party app that can be used to check out the data. It pays for itself if it finds just one pupil. I completely agree that it shouldn't be necessary.

[djrscally]

It's a stupid process. The government provides an web service to check your (the parent) FSM eligibility. If your child gets free school meals by default, why bother? For some gift card thing that you can only spend in a overpriced school clothing shop? Still cheaper to buy school clothes from the supermarkets. So no parent bothers, so the school get no extra funding - I joked (in a serious way) about schools giving out £50 amazon gift cards to parents who bother.

 

The ideal solution is the government just tells the school and gives them the money. They already have the data. They already know. Fine you might have, say 14% that you couldn't be sure - but you could ask them to confirm - or even don't bother. IMHO reason they don't, they (central government) don't want to pay the dosh.

Well its probably apathy rather than malevolence but it's certainly a ridiculous situation; and sadly there's no incentive for the government to fix it. A £50 amazon gift card is actually not too bad a plan; might float that one if this comes to nothing.

 

I'm pretty sure there is a third party app that can be used to check out the data. It pays for itself if it finds just one pupil. I completely agree that it shouldn't be necessary.

 

Any chance you remember what it's called? Or is that the SIMS plug in one I've heard of? Alas; Progresso.

[PhilNeal]

It is available separately https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/

[bobsmith]

Some Parent's don't want to claim it, what do you do in that situation?

[djrscally]

Some Parent's don't want to claim it, what do you do in that situation?

 

Explain to them the benefit to the school and ask them to claim it anyway, basically.

 

It is available separately https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/

 

Thanks. I have seen this one, but as the parent has to fill in the form to check if they're eligible I couldn't see any difference from just getting them to do the form on the LEA's website!

Edited July 14, 2017 by djrscally

[Banjo]

Don't you need the parents NI number to cross check their childs eligibility on the DfE website? That's not going to be in SIMS so any automation directly from a schools MIS to the DfE is off the cards. LA's can offer an opt out service - where a parent signing up for e.g. housing benefit (but not FSM) will automatically be crossed checked for FSM elgibility and the school informed.

[djrscally]

Don't you need the parents NI number to cross check their childs eligibility on the DfE website? That's not going to be in SIMS so any automation directly from a schools MIS to the DfE is off the cards. LA's can offer an opt out service - where a parent signing up for e.g. housing benefit (but not FSM) will automatically be crossed checked for FSM elgibility and the school informed.

 

You do need NI number yes; we'd need to collect that to make this work (personally I'm skeptical anyone would give it to us but hey ho).

 

Our LEA does a combined claim yes, but apparently there's still something like 8% of eligible kids in this LA that don't take up the FSM.

[matt40k]

I wouldn't want to collect that information. I think it would be better to just make some tablets\desktops\laptops available for them to complete the forms online on. Make sure you offer it regularly as you don't want parents missing out because they couldn't remember their NI number.

[GREED]

Is there a field in Progresso to store NI number against a parent?

[djrscally]

Is there a field in Progresso to store NI number against a parent?

 

Not natively (although there is "Visa Number" for some reason...) but you can add whatever new field you like.

 

I think it would be better to just make some tablets\desktops\laptops available for them to complete the forms online on. Make sure you offer it regularly as you don't want parents missing out because they couldn't remember their NI number.

 

I did think of doing this, both at admissions meetings and parents evenings and so on. My slight scepticism here is; I don't know my NI number, and I don't carry anything that tells me what it is. Lately I could get it via an online payslip, but prior to the last 6 months I'd have to go home to get something that tells me what it is. I imagine it's the same for most people so I'm just not sure whether providing them with a means to fill in the form when you see them will actually get that many of them to do it; because you're then relying on them remembering to do it at home/bring their NI number to the next meeting in school.

Edited July 14, 2017 by djrscally

[Banjo]

Not natively (although there is "Visa Number" for some reason...) but you can add whatever new field you like.

 

 

 

I did think of doing this, both at admissions meetings and parents evenings and so on. My slight scepticism here is; I don't know my NI number, and I don't carry anything that tells me what it is. Lately I could get it via an online payslip, but prior to the last 6 months I'd have to go home to get something that tells me what it is. I imagine it's the same for most people so I'm just not sure whether providing them with a means to fill in the form when you see them will actually get that many of them to do it; because you're then relying on them remembering to do it at home/bring their NI number to the next meeting in school.

 

If my son's school asked me for my NI number I wouldn't be inclinded to hand it over. It's quite a sensitive piece of information give out.

[GREED]

If my son's school asked me for my NI number I wouldn't be inclinded to hand it over. It's quite a sensitive piece of information give out.

 

I completely agree. Plus, much like the UPN conversations that are floating around right now in relation to GDPR, the NI number has legislation around what is can and cannot be used and stored for. I honestly believe you will get very little buy in from parents to supply this, just so you can do regular checks about their income and situation, just so the school can get some more money. I would check very carefully whether you can legitimately store the NI number, and use it for your purposes, both now and under GDPR from next year.

[GrumbleDook]

I completely agree. Plus, much like the UPN conversations that are floating around right now in relation to GDPR, the NI number has legislation around what is can and cannot be used and stored for. I honestly believe you will get very little buy in from parents to supply this, just so you can do regular checks about their income and situation, just so the school can get some more money. I would check very carefully whether you can legitimately store the NI number, and use it for your purposes, both now and under GDPR from next year.

 

The use of a parent's NI number by a public body to check eligibility for additional funding and resources, and done so on behalf of that parent, is legal processing. Parents are able to do this check themselves but can pass the job onto someone else on their behalf.

 

It is generally quite successful for schools, and that is partly down to parents seeing a benefit from the school obtaining additional funding via PP. this is one reason why some schools will offer the cost of one after school activity per term to be covered for learners eligible for PP.

 

Yes, it is going to get harder to manage next year... and I can see schools losing some funds as a result.

[fiza]

It is available separately https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/

@PhilNeal - Phil do you know who controls this site? Is it safe for parents to use seeing as though it asks for a lot of personal information?

[bobsmith]

If my son's school asked me for my NI number I wouldn't be inclinded to hand it over. It's quite a sensitive piece of information give out.

Totally agree, however the rules for qualifying for Free School Meals are reasonably straight forward - if you knew you qualified and wanted to save loads of money by having the government pick up the tab for your child's lunches (£2.20 a day at current rates?) you might be more inclined to do so.

 

If you know that you DON'T qualify then you wouldn't hand it over anyway.

 

That said the best method has got to be to provide access to those parents that don't have IT access (or need help doing 21st century stuff).