Management Information Sheet
Food vouchers for Free School Meal eligible pupils January 2024 to April 2024 - March Update
Following the release of MI Sheet 23/24 , the following information is to notify schools that Norfolk County Council is extending the scheme for one additional month up to April 2024.
Therefore, schools can order vouchers for April 2024 and we need to ensure that all January-April vouchers have been raised before 30 April, as after this date you will no longer be able to raise outstanding/missed vouchers.
Note: If vouchers expire, they cannot be reissued.
If your organisation feels there is a need to raise vouchers, other than for the purpose described above, you will need to contact the Free School Meal Finance Team to gain authorisation and explain the purpose for the use. If we agree, then the organisation will be required to provide us with an alternative userid and the organisation will be billed for the vouchers claimed. To cover the administration time, we will apply a £20 fee per invoice to cover the costs.
This is also a reminder that those children eligible for means-tested free school meals (FSM) attending a Norfolk School can claim through the Norfolk EdenRed portal, regardless of their home county residence. Please also take account of those pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium Plus. This also includes children in early years who receive EY Pupil Premium, those in post-sixteen education in receipt of bursary funding and those Elective Home Educated children that the council is aware of that would be eligible to means-tested FSM should they attend school.
Vouchers can only be issued for the current active claim period, in this case HSF4 April 2023-April 2024. Backdated claims for previous schemes must not be ordered. The schedule for placing the HSF4 FSM voucher orders are as follows:
| Month | Value £ | Go live date | Expiry date | Monthly Order Ref | Consolidated Order Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15 | 05-Jan-24 | 05-Apr-24 | 10 HSF4 JA | 1 HSF4 JM |
| February | 15 | 09-Feb-24 | 09-May-24 | 11 HSF4 FE | 1 HSF4 JM |
| March | 15 | 08-Mar-24 | 08-Jun-24 | 12 HSF4 MH | 1 HSF4 JM |
| April | 15 | 06-Apr-24 | 06-Apr-24 | 13 HSF4 AP |
Schools may place their orders monthly or consolidate them. Depending on which option you choose, please use the correct order reference as shown in the columns above. The order reference has now become a mandatory field to complete so please use the correct details.
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 refer to your Edenred user guide for instructions
Any pupils newly eligible to FSM may join the schedule at the point they become entitled.
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 login to be set up.
Queries
Any other queries in relation to voucher orders should be directed to the Free School Meals Finance Team at fsmf@norfolk.gov.uk. NB: 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.
Sharing
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.