As we approach the end of the first week since our function as an academies trust changed in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, we wanted to provide an update on our Free School Meals approach.

Prior to the announcement that schools would be closed as an educational setting but more a childcare provider for the most vulnerable children and those children of key workers, we worked hard on our preparation for this eventuality.

This preparation was to aid us in securing a transition to this new reality that was as smooth as possible and limit the stress and disruption caused to our students and their families. In addition to providing this for the weeks that school would ordinarily be open, we have, as a one off, made the decision to also provide these vouchers for the two week Easter holiday. We hope this will help families adjust to the dramatic measures needed to fight Covid-19.

We based our decisions on which supermarket to provide the Free School Meal vouchers  for by establishing which supermarket was nearest to the academy and community in question. After this had been established we worked hard to engage with the supermarkets to establish a workable and successful process for moving forward.

Our approach with Asda and Sainsbury’s was secured first and we worked hard and fast to ensure that vouchers were sent out on Tuesday (24th March) to the parents or carers of the relevant students. 

These are reloadable vouchers that can be topped up remotely by us to make the process as smooth as possible for parents or carers.

We initially pre-loaded the vouchers with £5 of credit and then topped them up after distribution to ensure the full weekly amount was provided to its recipient.

Our current plan is to update these vouchers with £11.50 on every Monday that our academies remain closed.  We expect to increase this amount to £15 and backdate the difference, if appropriate, once the rate the government has confirmed the rate they will pay. [UPDATE: on March 31st, the government announced its scheme that allows schools to issue vouchers worth £15 a week per child.]

Unfortunately, due to the extreme circumstances, we have encountered some issues where we had hoped to work with a third supermarket which best serves our other academies but this hasn’t proved possible.  

Instead, we have worked tirelessly on another solution with Wonde and we are delighted to announce that those who were yet to receive a voucher will today (26th March) be sent a text asking them to follow a link to where they will be able to select the most convenient supermarket for them. The options are Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury’s.

These parents, of students from across 17 of the Outwood academies, will, within 24 hours, receive an e-voucher for their selected supermarket.

The e-voucher will be of the same value as those previously mentioned, however it is currently only for in-store use and cannot be used online. We intend to send new vouchers, for their selected supermarket, each week our academies remain closed or until the government's national voucher scheme is available. 

We will continue to evaluate these two approaches for as long as we remain closed to ensure those students who have access to Free School Meals are receiving the resources they are entitled to.

We wish to thank everyone for their patience and understanding during these difficult times.