Dear Parent(s)
Firstly, I would like to wish you and your family well during this time of huge change and upheaval for our country. The COVID-19 virus is forcing every section of society to make changes, to previously established ways of working. Highams Park School is just one small part of a much larger picture.
I am writing to you, as one of the many families at Highams Park School, who are in receipt of free school meals. During the current school closure and social distancing measures, we have continued to provide the free school meals that your child is entitled to, available for collection from the school canteen. As you may well be aware, earlier this week the Government released details of how families can access free school meals, without the need to attend school to collect them.
I am pleased to inform you that from today, Friday, 3rd April 2020 your family will be sent a voucher that you can redeem at the following supermarkets; Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and M&S. The Government has said that they are looking to extend the scheme to other stores as well, but at the time of writing this note, these have not been confirmed.
The guidance, link attached here for ease of reference:
explains that once you have the voucher, there is no need to print it off. It can be presented at the till on a phone or tablet and £15 will be deducted from your shopping bill.
The voucher will be issued for five days at a time, and will be sent to the email address of the main carer whose details we hold at school. The allowance for five days amounts to £15 per child, which equates to £3 for each lunch time.
As with the normal free school meal provision, the Government do not make any provision for weekends or school holidays. So the voucher that you receive today will cover the period from Friday, 3rd April 2020 to Thursday, 23rd April 2020. A new £15 voucher will be issued on Friday, 24th April 2020 and each subsequent Friday thereafter, until further notice.
You will appreciate, that we have tried to respond as quickly as possible to the Government guidance that was released on Tuesday of this week. We are sending both this explanation and the first voucher on the same day, and appreciate that there may be some teething problems with the administration of this, as yet untested and nationwide system. If you do not receive your voucher by the end of today, Friday, 3rd April 2020, please do send your enquiry to
- Full Name
- Relationship to the child
- Child’s full name
- Child’s Year and Tutor Group
- Correct email address for yourself
Should you not have access to an email address, please notify us via the main switch board on 0208 527 4051 and we will link with you individually, to make alternative arrangements.
Many thanks for your patience and support of the school during these difficult times. We hope that the availability of these vouchers, and the flexibility it provides you with in being able to source your families’ food, is a small helping hand during these current measures.
Yours faithfully
Phil Grundy
Principal
