Lunchtime hot and cold meals are available at all of the primary and secondary schools in Newham. There has never been a better time for your child to stay in school for a healthy lunch. All schools have good dining facilities and menus follow the standards laid down by the Department for Education’s School Food Standards in 2015.
How free school meals are funded:
Reception and year groups 1 and 2 (infant and primary schools)
All children attending a state funded school in England, in reception and year groups 1 to 2, received free lunch funded by the Government’s universal infant free school meals programme (UIFSM)
Year groups 3 to 6 (junior and primary schools)
All children attending a state funded school in London, in year groups 3 to 6, receive a free lunch funded by the Mayor for London’s local extension to the universal infant free school meal scheme.
Year groups 7 to 11 (secondary schools)
All families with a child attending a secondary school must provide money to pay for their school lunch or provide a packed lunch, unless they are in receipt of one of the Government’s published qualifying benefits and have a free school meal claim in our local system.
Help support your child’s school with extra funding
To maximise support for schools in Newham, all families with children attending a scchool in Newham, should claim for free school meals, even if they are in reception or year groups 1 to 6 or think they might not be in receipt of the qualifying benefits.
Where we have a free school meal claim with ‘entitled’ status in our local system, the child’s school (not the family) will receive additional funding called Pupil Premium Ever 6 FSM. This funding is not linked directly to an individual child, but it must be spent by their school to implement strategies to support children who are registed as entitled to free school meals.
Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programmes
Funded by the Department of Education, for parents in receipt of means tested free school benefits, a range of local clubs across Newham are providing opportunities for your child/young person to meet new friends, learn something new, stay active and eat a nutritious meal during Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays.
In Newham, we work with a range of local providers with support from the public health team to make sure healthy and delicious food is available at every HAF provision. The HAF team work alongside colleagues in public health to ensure food served at this provision is delicious, local and nutritious. To find out more information about HAF, please visit Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) – Activities for young people in Newham – Newham Council
