Food vouchers for Free School Meal eligible pupils Sept 2024 to Oct 2024 - Update

The following information is to remind schools that the Household Support Funding as things stand will end in October 2024, therefore we are requesting that the final September & October vouchers are raised together at the start of September. 

All vouchers must have been raised before 31st October, as after this date you will no longer be able to raise outstanding/missed vouchers. 

Note: If vouchers expire, they cannot be reissued. 

If your organisation feels there is a need to raise vouchers, other than for the purpose described above, you will need to contact the Free School Meal Finance Team to gain authorisation and explain the purpose for the use. If we agree, then the organisation will be required to provide us with an alternative userid and the organisation will be billed for the vouchers claimed. To cover the administration time, we will apply a £20 fee per invoice to cover the costs. This facility will also end on 31st October.  

This is also a reminder that those children eligible for means-tested free school meals (FSM) attending a Norfolk School can claim through the Norfolk EdenRed portal, regardless of their home county residence. Please also take account of those pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium Plus. This also includes children in early years who receive EY Pupil Premium, those in post-sixteen education in receipt of bursary funding and those Elective Home Educated children that the council is aware of that would be eligible to means-tested FSM should they attend school. 

Backdated claims for previous schemes must not be ordered. The schedule for placing the HSF5 FSM voucher orders are as follows: 

Schools are asked to consolidate the final two month. Please use the correct order reference as shown in the columns above '2 HSF5 SO'. The order reference has now become a mandatory field to complete so please use the correct details. 

It is important that you enter the correct 'go live' dates on your CSV file before uploading it into the EdenRed portal so that the vouchers do not become available to parents/ carers too early. 

Please refer to your Edenred user guide for instructions. 

Any pupils newly eligible to FSM may join the schedule at the point they become entitled. 

Newly appointed staff 

If you are a newly appointed Headteacher or have new admin staff and are unsure about using the EdenRed portal, please e-mail fsmf@norfolk.gov.uk as soon as possible to arrange for your login to be set up. 

Queries 

Any other queries in relation to voucher orders should be directed to the Free School Meals Finance Team at fsmf@norfolk.gov.uk. NB: please do not contact EdenRed directly. Please continue to encourage eligible families to register for free school meals as this will enable them to qualify for these vouchers as well as the other support available. 

Sharing the link 

You may wish to share this link (www.norfolk.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/school-meals-and-milk) on your own Facebook pages to promote the scheme to your parents and carers. Please note that the free school meal vouchers will only be available to those who are eligible and have registered.