The report of the Directorate Finance Lead – Children and Schools is attached.

The Forum considered a report of theDirectorate Finance Lead – Children Services and Education which  discussed the potential future impact of the cessation of the government’s transitional protection of Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility, expected to be March 2023. According to October 2021 school census data, 39.7% of Manchester pupils were eligible for Free School Meals. This was compared against the national average of 20.8%. The process of capture of FSM eligibility had changed in the city (in 2018) to help minimise under reporting of need and to maximise funding in the city.  This had been achieved through the use of an on-line eligibility checker which was accessed at individual school level. As a result, eligibility in the city had risen steadily and had continued to rise, however  with the removal of protection there was a  significant risk that schools would notice a reduction in the number of pupils who are eligible in future years. 

The Government had introduced FSM transitional protection arrangements to ensure that families were not disadvantaged during the rollout of Universal Credit and that protection remained in place irrespective of any change in circumstances  until the full rollout of Universal Credit.  Once the rollout of Universal Credit was complete, no child would lose their entitlement and would continue to be transitionally protected until the end of their current phase of education.  Transitional protection applied to all children whether eligible through legacy benefits or Universal Credit status.

The direct implication of the cessation of protection was that as pupils move to a different school phase, there would likely be a steady decline in FSM pupils as well as associated funding directly linked to those pupils, such as Pupil Premium, and the allocation for ‘Deprivation’ as measured by FSM eligibility within the Funding Formula.  Since Primary school pupils in Reception, Year 1 and 2 all qualify for FSM under the Universal infant free school meals UIFSM), the importance of identifying pupils who are eligible for FSM in those year groups before the cessation was stressed, to ensure protection until they leave Year 6. High schools may start to see a drop in the number of FSM pupils in Year 7, from September 2023, however any high school pupils already identified as eligible would remain so until the end of their phase.

In light of the historic understatement of need in the city which had been addressed by the use of the online FSM checker, the Forum discussed whether any additional support at Local Authority level could help schools to identify eligible pupils in Key Stage 1.  The Directorate Finance Lead - Children and Schools emphasised that activity at individual school level was the simplest means of identification, however the issue would be discussed in a series of briefings to raise awareness about the impact of the cessation across Manchester.  There was then a discussion about whether elibility could be identified during admissions for a school place.  The Director of Education spoke about the challenge and complexities of the Integrated School Admissions process but agreed to explore what options could be achieved.

Decision

To note the report.