Ukrainian children - FSM entitlement?

[dgsmith]

Hi, we received our first Ukrainian refugee this week and the question about lunch provision was raised but without any real clear answer. We fall under Lancs County Council and their website suggests that parents should apply through the usual channels and will only have FSM if they have an eligible benefit (which was reiterated when our finance officer called them).

Yet, I can see various other council websites stating that Ukrainian refugee children of all ages get FSM automatically, and that schools should treat them as having the entitlement from day 1, making a note of usage and retrospectively declaring it.

 

Surely this should be standardised nationally and not differing dependant upon which region of the country a child is in? Does anyone have any more understanding about this or looked into it themselves? The majority of councils do seem to have taken the stance of "assume FSM from day 1, sort out making it official later".

[howartp]

Fair question, and we have two here, but the question hasn't been asked yet!

 

I'll be following this thread and asking my colleagues.

[Linfit]

My understanding is that for humanitarian reasons you can assume they are eligible from day 1 on the grounds that they pretty much 99% will be but it will take some time for obvious reasons for the paperwork to be done to claim the required benefits formally.

It seems that most authorities are taking this view and assuming a normal application still has to be made in due course.

There does not appear to be any sort of blanket exemption or stated national policy on this though that I could find.

[Ditto]

I need to check some governance documentation I have, but I think there is a specific funding for refugees. FSM won't benefit immediately due to the funding cycles. Whatever the status, I would expect it is a national rule, not an LEA one. Remember, all academies are almost entirely funded directly and not be the LA. Hope to post again late with more details.

[Ditto]

Under https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils, it confirms that there is funding as follows for Ukrainian refugees.

 

The Department for Education (DfE) will allocate funding on a per pupil basis for the 3 phases of education at the following annual rates:Early years (ages 2 to 4) - £3,000Primary (ages 5 -11) - £6,580Secondary (ages 11-18) - £8,755

 

The funding will be allocated to LA's to pass to schools. DfE are working on the process for getting that funding through but it's not clear to me what the timeframes are. I'd hope the school business manager/bursar is up to date on this.

 

I've not seen anything addressing FSM so I would conclude you have to follow normal processes, in spite of what the OP posted in relation to some councils. It could be the case, but I'd be inclined to follow up with DfE/EFSA.

 

Also, these letters from the Secretary of State to LA's has further details and an email contact for queries.

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1065925/SoS_letter_to_LAs_Ukraine.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1073065/SoS_integration_letter.pdf

 

 

*** EDIT - discovered https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities/providing-free-school-meals-to-families-with-no-recourse-to-public-funds-nrpf which could be the basis for FSM ***

[Ditto]

Got it! See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/700139/Free_school_meals_guidance_Apr18.pdf and reference to Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 as qualifying - I expect that is it.

[dgsmith]

Got it! See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/700139/Free_school_meals_guidance_Apr18.pdf and reference to Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 as qualifying - I expect that is it.

 

Would this form the basis for assuming eligibility is there from day 1 and treating any such students as such? If that is the case, is there still an expectation on them to apply formally and make it official, it would the onus in this instance be on the school? This doc is from >4 years ago however I'd hope that fundamentally nothing has changed in this regard.