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Norwich parents urged to sign up for free school meals
21 Nov 2011

Norwich parents whose children are eligible for free school meals have been urged to sign up for them in order to get extra funding for their school.

Under the Pupil Premium brought in by the government, education providers receive hundreds of pounds for each child they teach who receives a free midday meal, Norwich Evening News reports.

However, this can only happen if the parents of these youngsters have registered, MP Simon Wright has explained.

Currently, there is thought to be a five per cent gap between the number of children eligible and the proportion of families signed up, meaning schools are losing money.

"This year Norwich schools got £1.1 million - if that doubled next year, it would make a huge difference," Mr Wright commented.

For schools noticing that people are not taking advantage of free meals, cashless catering may help.

This involves pupils carrying a card to pay for their lunch so they do not have to identify themselves as being low-income, meaning the stigma and fear of bullying could be eliminated.