Families entitled to a free school meal direct payment of £27 per child per fortnight will start receiving payments into their accounts today.
The Education Authority has been working with the Department of Education to explore options for making payment to families who are entitled to free school meals.
If your bank account details have changed in the last 12 months, they must be updated.
Parents/guardians will receive £2.70 per day and payments will be made every two weeks. For each child you will receive a fortnightly payment of £27 until 30 June or until your child’s/children’s school reopen whichever is soonest.
In the next few days you will be able to complete the secure form that will be available on the Education Authority’s website at www.eani.org.uk.
If you are updating bank details please ensure that you provide the National Insurance number and bank details of the parent/guardian who last applied to free school meals and uniform grants. Please note that the bank account must be in the same name of the parent/guardian who previously applied for assistance.
If you have lost your job,, you need to immediately inform HMRC / Universal Credit / the Social Security Agency and inform them of the change in your circumstances.
When you begin to receive a qualifying benefit, you can then submit a free school meals application form with the relevant proof of benefit (see details on the application form). Application forms are available from the Education Authority’s website https://www.eani.org.uk/node/1075.