Free School Meals (FSM)
It is easy to apply for Free School Meals. Guidance and information on how to apply for Free School Meals can be found on Cambridgeshire County Council's website here. The application form is easy to complete, but please contact us if you would like further assistance.
Pupils who receive free school meals have £2.35 placed on their canteen account every school day. This can be spent at break or lunchtime in the canteen. The process is private and the pupil cannot be identified as receiving Free School Meals when they use their biometric identity.
When you register your children for Free School Meals, the College will receive a sum of money from the government for each child. This is fund is called Pupil Premium.
If eligible for Free School Meals, families can save around £450 a year per child.
Pupil Premium Funding
The Government believes that Pupil Premium (PP) funding, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the underlying inequalities between children who are eligible for free school meals (FSM), or who have been eligible in the last 6 years, and their peers.
Schools also receive funding for: children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months and students who are were looked after and are now no longer in care. Students who are the children of either currently serving member of HM forces, or who have retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence qualify for ‘Service Premium’ is not classed as Pupil Premium but is allocated to help with pastoral support.
The Pupil Premium (PP) and Service Premium currently stands at:
- £1075 for every secondary age pupil who claims free school meals or who has claimed free school meals in the last 6 years.
- £2,630 for every pupil who are within local authority care.
- £2,630 for every pupil who has left local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child arrangements order.
- £350 for every child of either a serving member of HM forces or retired on a pension from the MOD.
It is a requirement for the academic year 2025-26 that the school publishes both how the money was spent in 2024-25 and how it is going to be spent in the coming year 202-26.
Within our Pupil Premium strategy, we have identified key challenges faced by students in receipt of Pupil Premium funding. For each challenge, we outline the targeted strategies we employ to address these barriers, alongside clear intended outcomes and success criteria. This structured approach enables us to conduct a thorough and transparent review of the effectiveness of each strategy at the end of every academic year, ensuring continuous improvement and the best possible support for our disadvantaged pupils.
There are activities outlined in ‘The strategy document’.
