Management Information Sheet

For 1 November 2022 to 30 April 2023 and a reminder for HSF2 August, September and October vouchers

Support has been extended to cover the period from November 2022 to April 2023 for pupils eligible for means-tested Free School Meals (FSM).

Note: Where appropriate, please pass this message onto the person in your school, trust or college that orders food vouchers for eligible children.

The government has confirmed a further £6.67m of Household Support Funding for Norfolk for the period 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. In addition to this NCC will be adding a further £1.2m to the fund. As in previous rounds a significant amount of this funding will be used to support families with children. Families who are eligible for Free School Meals can receive Edenred vouchers to the value of £15 per month per child with an additional £30 voucher in December. The Vouchers can be spent at many major retailers including supermarkets. The vouchers will be issued through schools.

We are again asking all Norfolk schools and colleges to order vouchers for their means-tested FSM-eligible pupils to cover the period 1 November 22 to 30 April 2023 via the NCC Edenred portal. NCC is covering the cost of these vouchers. Therefore, to reduce the administrative burden on schools and to ensure all orders placed are distinguished from school term time orders and avoid being charged, please follow the instructions below carefully.

Ordering instructions: please follow carefully

NCC is not linking the food vouchers to the school holidays but is issuing them monthly to help families with the cost of living. Parents or carers may choose to save vouchers rather than spend at the time of issue, so they have more funds available during the school holidays if they wish to, within the constraints of the three-month expiry date of the vouchers. Note: If vouchers expire, they cannot be reissued.

The schedule for the placing of the HSF3 FSM voucher orders is as follows:

Month	Value £	Go live date	Expiry date	Monthly Order Ref	Consolidated Order Ref
November	15	11-Nov-22	18-Feb-23	1 HSF3 N	1 HSF3 NA
December	45	02-Dec-22	18-Mar-23	2 HSF3 D	1 HSF3 NA
January	15	06-Jan-23	13-Apr-23	3 HSF3 JA	1 HSF3 NA
February	15	03-Feb-23	03-May-23	4 HSF3 F	1 HSF3 NA
March	15	10-Mar-23	17-Jun-23	5 HSF3 MC	1 HSF3 NA
April	15	07-Apr-23	07-Jul-23	6 HSF3 AP	1 HSF3 NA

Schools may place their orders monthly or consolidate them into 1 order with the go live dates as in the table above. Depending upon which option you choose, please use the correct order reference as shown in the columns above.

It is important that if you choose the consolidated order option you enter the correct 'go live' dates on your CSV file before uploading it into the Edenred portal so that the vouchers do not become available to parents/carers too early.

Please DO NOT use 1HSF3 NA and order a total of £120 of vouchers to be delivered on 11 Nov 2022.

Please refer to your Edenred user guide for instructions.

Any pupils newly eligible to FSM may join the schedule at the point they become entitled. If pupils have joined your school and you need to check if claims have already been made for that pupil, then please contact Free School Meals (FSM) Finance Team mailbox: fsmf@norfolk.gov.uk.

Reminder for HSF2 vouchers - April 2022 to 31 October

We have several schools and colleges who haven't ordered all of their vouchers for HSF2.

Please check you have ordered the following vouchers:

• August (4 HSF2 AU) £30
• September (5 HSF2 S) £15
• October (6 HSF2 O) £15

Some schools and colleges have only ordered £15 for August instead of £30; please check you have ordered the correct amount for August.

Newly appointed staff

If you are a newly appointed Headteacher or have new admin staff and are unsure about using the Edenred portal, please e-mail fsmf@norfolk.gov.uk as soon as possible to arrange for your log-in to be set up.

Queries

All other queries in relation to voucher orders must also be directed to the Free School Meals (FSM) Finance Team at fsmf@norfolk.gov.uk. Note: please do not contact Edenred directly.

Please continue to encourage eligible families to register for free school meals as this will enable them to qualify for these vouchers as well as the other support available.

You may wish to share this link on your own Facebook pages to promote the scheme to your parents and carers: www.norfolk.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/school-meals-and-milk

Please note that the free school meal vouchers will only be available to those who are eligible and have registered.

Families in hardship and needing wider support

In addition to the offer of FSM vouchers for eligible families, there is support available for families who are facing hardship and need support.

Anyone experiencing hardship may be able to receive support through the Norfolk Assistance Scheme (NAS), which may be able to provide support for food, fuel, clothes, and other essential household items to families experiencing hardship. Wider support from a range of partners can then also be made available with NAS working alongside the Children's Services Community and Partnerships service.

Families may get in touch with NAS via their dedicated website which includes an online application form, or if they cannot access the internet, they can call 0344 800 8020.

Thank you to colleagues for continuing to support vulnerable children and families.