Free school Meals summer supermarket vouchers

Please see the below letter from Nottingham City Council about a supermarket voucher of £50 per pupil over the summer holiday for every child eligible for Free School Meals.

These will come to you via the school as usual before the end of term - please make sure you claim and use them before the expiry date

Financial support available this Summer

Dear parents and carers,

For the last two years, the Government has been giving Council’s a grant to support households most in need during the pandemic and now in the cost of living crisis. This grant is called the Household Support Fund. Over school holidays Nottingham City Council has used the grant to provide supermarket vouchers of £15 per pupil per week, to children who are entitled to receive Free School Meals.

Will supermarket vouchers be available again this Summer holiday?

Yes. The grant is available until September 2022. A supermarket voucher of £50 per pupil will be available for every child eligible for Free School Meals. This will come to you via your child’s school as usual.

The £50 voucher will be a one-off voucher for the Summer holiday. We recognise that this is less than the £15 per pupil per week families received last Summer, as these vouchers totalled £75 over the five weeks.

This reduction is beyond the control of the Council. The Government have changed the rules for how the grant money should now be spent. A greater proportion of the grant money must now be distributed to pensioners or other financially vulnerable households. For more information about this change see the Government website here. We recognise that this could create difficulty for some Nottingham families, so we would like to take this opportunity to make you aware of further support available to you.

Free holiday clubs

This Summer, as well as receiving the £50 supermarket voucher, your child is entitled to attend free holiday activity clubs with a free lunch provided. The clubs are provided through the Council’s Free Fun and Food programme. The clubs will be delivered by Nottingham Forest Community Trust and other community groups at venues across the city. Please find your nearest club and book your place here www.asklion.co.uk/funandfood. If your child is not eligible for Free School Meals some places are still available on a first come, first served basis. Please contact the clubs to ask about available places.

How can I get more help?

The Council has been working with community partners and welfare advice agencies to determine how best to allocate the remaining vouchers. This Summer further supermarket and energy vouchers will be given out through Nottingham Advice Centres, Age UK Notts and other local community organisations including Nottingham City Homes and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing. These agencies have the specialism to work with households in financial crisis and can advise people about finances and the wider welfare support available. A full list of these organisations can be found on the council’s webpages here www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/householdsupportvouchers Families are welcome to contact these advice agencies to book an appointment. The appointment will provide advice on the welfare support available in Nottingham including the availability of extra vouchers.

We hope this means that families will benefit from the £50 supermarket voucher, the free holiday activity clubs and the opportunity to discuss further welfare support and additional vouchers with their local advice agencies.

Yours sincerely

Nick Lee, Director of Education, Nottingham City Council