Is this fraud & should I report it?

flutterby_lil

tibawo wrote: »

It is funding the school is entitled to, no fraud.

If a child can claim free school meals then the school gets 'extra' in their budget.

Whether a parent chooses to take up free school meals then this is their choice and cannot be forced upon them.

The school is just reminding parents to claim.

Where is the fraud?

This^^.

I work in a school office and this is exactly how it works. A child may be entitled to a free school meal but choose to have packed lunch. The school will get more in their budget for this child, despite it not having a free school meal (but being entitled). If more children are seen as being entitled to a free school meal then more than likely it is a deprived area with low income families.

clearingout

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

isn't it odd how a school can claim extra money on the basis of the number of free meals children and then use it elsewhere, BUT if a parent were to do something similar it would be fraudulent

It is NOTHING to do with free school meals. Each child in school who is ELIGIBLE for free school meals means that the school is ELIGIBLE for extra funding for the school's overall funding 'pot'. It is paid on a per head basis. The local authority is responsible for dealing with this - but parents who are ELIGIBLE for free school meals need to make themselves known to the local authority. Schools are aware that not everyone who is eligible for free school meals takes up the offer - hence they send out these letters. Local authorities know who is getting free school meals as they already deal with that - they are just asking for a quick 'hands up' so that the school gets the money that they are entitled to.

I struggle to understand why people don't understand that there is nothing at all fraudulent about this?

clearingout

see this link. The premium this year is worth an additional £600 per child to the school. The Department for Education is clearly stating here that parents should make their eligibility for free school meals known to the local authority.

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/a00200697/pupil-premium-2012-13

Naf

Why are people still arguing a point I am not making?
There are two pieces of funding; one is the funding the school can get based on entitlement to free schoole meals; and the other is the actual money for free school meals. The first is absolutely fine; the school only needs to ask about eligibility - not encourage people to claim. The second is money paid for school meals and is for the family. As I pointed out before, if I had no rent to pay, I could not claim HB for it... so if the child has no school dinner that needs to be paid for, claiming the money to pay for it is fraud. This is what I don't understand - that the school feels OK encouraging parents to make fraudulent claims for a benefit.

pmlindyloo

Naf wrote: »

Why are people still arguing a point I am not making?
There are two pieces of funding; one is the funding the school can get based on entitlement to free schoole meals; and the other is the actual money for free school meals. The first is absolutely fine; the school only needs to ask about eligibility - not encourage people to claim. The second is money paid for school meals and is for the family. As I pointed out before, if I had no rent to pay, I could not claim HB for it... so if the child has no school dinner that needs to be paid for, claiming the money to pay for it is fraud. This is what I don't understand - that the school feels OK encouraging parents to make fraudulent claims for a benefit.

I see where you are coming from.

What exactly does the letter say? Does it tell you how to apply for free school meals or does it ask you to contact the school office?

Really this would depend on whether the school actually applies for school meal funding for the eligible child which isn't having the school meal or whether it holds the information as daat for the Pupil premium.

Why don't you ask the school?

It could just be a badly worded letter.

Naf

It literally says;

Please apply for this entitlement even if you do not want your child to receive free school meals

Applying requires a parent to sign to say they want their child to receive free school meals. If its just that its badly worded, no wonder the place failed its Ofstead...

pmlindyloo

I suppose that, as someone else has said, some people may not be aware that they are entitled to free school meals and even though the child has packed lunch may take up their entitlement to school meals later.

Having said that I do understand what you are saying as it is differnet 'pots of money'.

If you feel strongly about it then I would check with the school and point out your 'take' on this.

Not sure I would bother though.

Saturnalia

The funding comes from two different pots. If the child is eligible for free meals and the parents claim them and the child eats them, the money to fund the meals is a different area to the Pupil Premium.

The school's entitlement to PP money is decided by how many families can claim free meals. The school can't ask families for data on their finances, so asking them to claim the free meals if they fit the criteria to do so is a way around that and provides proof that X number of families are poor.

So none of this is fraud. It is a means of getting the school the funding it needs, and I don't see how anyone could begrudge a school with a high number of disadvantaged pupils getting extra funds.

The parents are being asked to make a claim for a benefit they are entitled to get, and the school is gathering data to claim the money it is entitled to. No fraud in this anywhere.

cockaleekee

Naf wrote: »

Why are people still arguing a point I am not making?
There are two pieces of funding; one is the funding the school can get based on entitlement to free schoole meals; and the other is the actual money for free school meals. The first is absolutely fine; the school only needs to ask about eligibility - not encourage people to claim. The second is money paid for school meals and is for the family. As I pointed out before, if I had no rent to pay, I could not claim HB for it... so if the child has no school dinner that needs to be paid for, claiming the money to pay for it is fraud. This is what I don't understand - that the school feels OK encouraging parents to make fraudulent claims for a benefit.

I can see your point Naf. It is either a case of a poorly worded letter, in that the school wishes to claim the premium for those eligible for school dinners, or that they are claiming for meals that are not being provided. The former is legitimate, the latter is certainly not.

Ames

Naf wrote: »

It literally says;


Applying requires a parent to sign to say they want their child to receive free school meals. If its just that its badly worded, no wonder the place failed its Ofstead...

But it says entitlement, not the actual meals.

It's like how someone can have an underlying entitlement to carer's allowance, for instance, without being able to get the actual money. They'd still get the extras, like NI contributions. In this case, the parents are being asked to apply for entitlement to free school meals, without necessarily getting the food, but the school gets the extras, in the form of the pupil premium which goes into the overall school budget.