Every child has a school account. The free school meal entitlement is £3.25. It will be credited by the caterer to your child’s account on a daily basis. This amount can only be spent on that day at lunchtime; it is not available for break. (NB. Any money not spent is not transferred to the following day). You can add more money to your child’s account by topping up their account online.

We use an online system for Free School Meals at Orchard Park High School.

Parent/carer’s only need to sign up once. Our system checks regularly for any changes in your
circumstances during your child’s time at Orchard Park High School. The system simply requires a parent/carer’s date of birth and national insurance number. You only need to give the date of birth and national insurance number for one parent.

Anyone eligible for a free school meal, and who registers their eligibility, will save themselves hundreds of pounds per year and your child will benefit from a healthy school meal. You will also help raise money for the school following a government commitment to pay schools for each student registered through the pupil premium. Your child does not need to eat the meal, but the school still gets the extra funding if you register.

The funding can be used in many ways. Examples of how we may use the funding include:

• Introducing reading and homework clubs.
• Summer schools to help children with transition to secondary school.
• Subsidising the cost of school trips or uniform.
• Paying for additional staffing.
• Providing small group tuition.
• Providing a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
• Purchasing new technology.
• Providing mentoring programmes.
• Improving resources such as books, computers and sports equipment.

Please ensure you have checked to see if you are eligible. We would like to encourage, as many families as possible to sign into this system via the link.

All that you will need is the following:

• Your own name and date of birth
• Contact details
• National Insurance Number (or National Asylum Seekers Number)
• Child's name and date of birth
• School your child is attending/will attend.

We would be very grateful if you could fill in your details on this form, even if you have applied unsuccessfully in the past, or if you believe you are not entitled to additional funding. The systems re-checks details every term, and will automatically update our records if your status changes.

If you would like help with applying, you are very welcome to come into school and we would be happy to assist you with an application.  

Thank you for your support of Orchard Park High School.

If you are in receipt of one of the following benefits, please apply for your child’s Free School Meal:

• Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190