AROUND 130 additional children in the Borough are now receiving free school Meals thanks to Sefton Council’s smarter use of data.

To achieve this, the Sefton Council has pulled together a wealth of available data and used it to identify families who are eligible for free school meals but who may not have realised they qualify.

So far, an extra 83 primary school and 46 high school pupils are now receiving free, balanced meal at school and support over school holiday periods and half terms. And they have access to free and subsidised activities during the school holidays.

As well as being of huge benefit to children and families, the initiative enables Sefton schools to access more ‘Pupil Premium'. This is funding which helps schools provide extra resources and support for children from low-income households. Sefton schools could receive an additional £175,000 in funding because of this initiative.

Newly eligible families were notification letters and unless they chose to opt out, the children were automatically enrolled. This helped ensuring there was no delay in them receiving the free meals and support.

In the coming months, Sefton Council plans to expand the project to help families access other benefits and services they may be missing out on.

Sefton Council Leader of the Council, Cllr Marion Atkinson said:- “This is about making sure no child goes without the support they are entitled to. Our teams have worked hard to use the data we have in a smarter way to make it easier for families to access the support they need. I am so pleased to know that around 130 local children and young people will now be getting the support they are entitled to and that our schools will be able to access funding to make learning even better for all pupils. We know how hard things are for many families right now and this initiative is one way we can make a real, immediate difference.”

You can find out more about free school meals and other support at this website or by visiting this link.