In line with Department for Education non-statutory guidance, there is no duty for Staffordshire County Council to provide free meals or an alternative to EOTAS pupils. Staffordshire has agreed to pay a discretionary Equivalent Food Provision grant for pupils who meet all the following conditions -
- The child is a Staffordshire resident in national curriculum year Reception to the end of year 14 and
- the child would meet the published criteria for free school meals if they were on roll at a school (under the standard benefits related grounds or No Recourse to Public Funds criteria), and have made a claim which has been verified by the County Council as eligible and
- have a live finalised Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and
- are receiving EOTAS under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and have no provision named in section I of their EHCP
The grant will be provided in the form of a supermarket voucher, the annual total value being based on the free school meals funding factor amount stated in the DfE ‘National funding formulae for schools and high needs’ guidance for that academic year. This will be paid in advance of the start of each half term (based on SCC published term dates) as 1/6th of the total annual value, rounded up to the nearest full pound.
Payments will be calculated from 25 March 2024 (the date that the new guidance was issued) or the date the finalised EOTAS EHCP was issued and FSM eligibility was confirmed, whichever is the latter. For those who become eligible for support part way through a term, payment for that half term will be reduced by 1/7th for each full week before they became eligible in that half term (rounded up to the nearest £1 with a minimum £5 payment being made). Staffordshire County Council will not provide any retrospective payments before the new guidance was issued on 24 March 2024.
Consideration will be given under exceptional grounds for other Staffordshire resident free school meals eligible EOTAS pupils who do not meet the above criteria. Each will be individually assessed based on the information provided by the applicant and there is no guarantee that a grant will be provided.
Any queries related to the equivalent food provision grant (for EOTAS pupils only) should be emailed to EFP@staffordshire.gov.uk.