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If you wish to contact the school, please email office@ridgefield.cambs.sch.uk *** Please remember to book your school lunches*** Our Nursery provides 15 and 30 hour funded sessions for 3 and 4 year old children.

Help us to claim vital funds to support your child

Are you in receipt of any of the following benefits?

  • Income support
  • Income based job seekers allowance
  • Income related employment support allowance
  • Child Tax Credit Award Notice (TC602)
  • Pensions credit award notice (M100)
  • Support under part VI of the immigration and asylum act 1999
  • Universal credit (where take home pay does not exceed £7400)

Did you know that if you are, the school can claim extra money to help support your child? This is called the Pupil Premium.

To help us claim this money, click here:

https://cambridgeshire-self.achieveservice.com/service/Apply_for_Education_Welfare_Benefits

 

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is additional funding which the school receives to support children who come from low-income backgrounds. It is not an individual budget to spend on each child, but accrues in a single ‘pot’ which the school is then able to direct towards spending which supports these pupils.

Each child generates £1480 for the school.

 

What does the money get used for?

At Ridgefield we use the Pupil Premium to:

  • Pay for additional adult support in the classrooms
  • Discount school visits costs
  • Address the gap between the outcomes for children from low income backgrounds in terms of Reading, Writing and Maths
  • Support the social, emotional and mental health needs of children from low income backgrounds
  • Support the purchase of books at our annual book fair

 

How does the school get this money?

If a child receives a Free School Meal, their name is automatically added to the Pupil Premium register held by the Department for Education. This registration means that even if a child only ever has 1 Free School Meal, they will generate Pupil Premium income for the school for the following 6 years. This means that if, even for a short period in Year 1, your child is eligible for a Free School Meal, over the rest of their time at Ridgefield, they will generate an additional £8880 for the school.

 

But my child gets a Free School Meal in KS1 anyway – why should I bother apply for a Free School Meal?

This is true. The Universal Infant Free School Meal system means that all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically get a Free School Meal. This means that many parents do not bother to claim their Free School Meal. This means that the school is losing out on the additional funding that they would get if parents registered for the Free School Meal!

There is no difference between the meals your child gets served whether they are paid meals in KS2, Universal Infant Free School Meals in KS1 or Reception, or Free School meals. They are all cooked onsite by the Dolce Kitchen staff.

The only difference is the additional funding that your registration for a Free School Meal generates.

 

Is it complicated to apply for?

No. There is an online form which you can fill in. This checks your eligibility and then adds your name to the DfE register if you are eligible. This means that if you move schools (even when your child moves to secondary school) you won’t have to apply again.

Apply here: https://cambridgeshire-self.achieveservice.com/service/Apply_for_Education_Welfare_Benefits

You will need a National Insurance Number or an NASS number. The website will run a check on your number. If it is unable to determine your eligibility, you will be asked to provide evidence that you are in receipt of one of the following benefits.

Changing circumstances

Over the last few years Ridgefield Primary School has seen a huge drop off in children being eligible for Free School Meals – and certainly we have seen a drop off in people applying for them.

This means that as groups of Year 6 children leave, our Pupil Premium funding levels are dropping rapidly and will continue to drop in the coming years. For example, last year 14 children in Year 6 generated Pupil Premium funding, only 5 children in our new Reception intake generate it. This means that we will see a funding drop of £13320 from our budget this coming April. The numbers of children in every year group are lower than the one above, and if this trend continues, then by the time our current Reception children reach Year 6, we could have reduced our annual income from Pupil Premium from £91,980 (April 2024) to just £51,800 (by April 2031). This is a reduction of 40,000 per year at that point.

 

That has huge staffing implications aside from anything else.

 

What are you waiting for?!

There is literally nothing to be gained by remaining off of the Pupil Premium register. Even if in later years, you feel that you do not need the benefits, the school will still use the money your child has generated to support those in less fortunate circumstances.

So if you are in receipt of any of the benefits listed above, please apply for the Pupil Premium funding straight away!

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