Universal Infant Free School Meals

Deb TylerPrimary Heads12 March 2014

School Food Plan – UIFSM

• School Food Plan published in summer 2013– Large document and useful summary, including

headteacher checklist• Extension of free meals to all infant age – reception,

year one and year 2 - children (regardless of family income) from September 2014

• One-off capital funding to improve kitchen/ cooking facilities - £657k across Newcastle inc VA schools

• Revenue funding of £2.30 per additional meal

Additional guidance from DfE (6 March)• Revenue funding - flat rate of £2.30 per additional meal,

take-up measured through new school census indicator in October 2014. Schools notified of provisional allocations for 2014-15 in June 2014; and funding for the first two terms made to local authorities based on data from January 2014 Schools Census and planning assumption that 87% of newly eligible pupils will take 190 school meals in the course of the academic year. Subsequent adjustment based on actual data from October 2014 and January 2015 Censuses.

• Transitional funding for schools with less than 150 pupils (January Census)

Transitional funding – small schools• Additional one-off sum of transitional funding for small primary schools with

less than 150 pupils of between £3,000 and £15,000. Allocations based on following units of funding:

Pupil Premium• The basis on which pupil premium funding is calculated will not be

affected by the introduction of UIFSM. • The funding for the financial year 2014-15 will be informed by data

collected in the January 2014 School Census. • For the financial year 2015-16, the same criteria currently used to

assess FSM eligibility (i.e. receipt of qualifying benefits) will continue to be used to assess whether a pupil qualifies for the pupil premium (£1300 per child at present). Data on FSM-eligible pupils will continue to be collected by the department annually, through the School Census (for mainstream settings) and the Alternative Provision census (for non-mainstream settings).

• For more advice on how schools can safeguard pupil premium funding from September 2014, see the UIFSM Toolkit.

UIFSM Toolkit and other support• Link to UIFSM in letter from Martin Surtees sent to schools on

Monday 10 March• Other very targeted direct support for specific categories of schools:

– currently have low levels of school meal take-up – provide only packed lunches– have in-house catering and are therefore unlikely to receive support from a

‘parent’ organisation such as a local authority or catering organisation– are small and therefore struggle to make the school meal service break

even;– are very large, and known to have capacity issues; and / or– prepare and transport school meals to other schools (known as

‘production kitchens’). Some of these will be secondary schools– To access this support schools should first check the online resources on

the Children’s Food Trust website ( www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/schoolfoodplan/uifsm )

From UIFSM Toolkit: Getting startedWith your caterer or school cook: • Set up a school food working group: www.schoolfoodplan.com/sfwg• Talk to parents and look at your roll numbers to find out likely take-up of

schools meals from September 2014• Identify any improvements needed to kitchens and/or the need for

additional dining facilities. • Find out who in your local authority is managing capital funding (or consider

future bids to the ACMF if you are an academy) • Consider whether you could simplify lunch menu to cope with extra demand • Determine need for new staff and staff training (including induction training)• Review your lunchtime arrangements to cope with the extra demand• Continue registering pupils eligible for free school meals under the existing

criteria to safeguard the pupil premium • Develop a communications planAdditional advice for schools with regen kitchens or no school meals service

UIFSM in Newcastle - capital• Initial assessment of kitchens and facilities by School Meals Service provider(s)

working with schools – identify all issues• Prioritise criteria for funding (essential/desirable?)• Will work with schools on implementation plansThis assessment is identifying for each school whether: 1. Substantial kitchen and/or dining refurbishment/extensions are needed2. Large kitchen equipment (e.g. ovens, fridge/freezers) inadequate and/or insufficient 3. Serving facilities or equipment is inadequate and/or insufficient 4. Smaller kitchen or dining items (e.g. light equipment, cutlery and crockery, trays) are

inadequate and/or insufficient • Some initial assessments conducted for all schools where the City Council provides

service and priority work is taking place to assess options and costs for those in category 1 (initial estimate 13).

• Initial discussion with diocesan directors (and capital leads)• Initial discussions with other school meal providers and will contact schools that

provide their own school meals. • An estimation of costs has also started for categories 2 and 3.

UIFSM – next steps• UIFSM workshop for all schools – 1 April 2014 (12.30-16.00) venue

tbc (booking via SLA Online)– Requested input from national support team– Using the UIFSM toolkit– Capital funding – initial assessment and targeting spend– Joint planning with schools– Input from school(s) that have been through this in pilot LA

• Capital funding plan and options• Revenue funding

– Financial modelling – existing issues with historic pricing model for free/paid meals; modelling increased volume and implications for unit cost

• Identifying available support and learning from elsewhere• Lobbying?• LA and school implementation plan and delivery