These benefits are for pupils whose parents receive certain Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits and Inland Revenue Tax Credits. The Learning Trust provides clothing vouchers at age 11+ for pupils transferring from primary to secondary school and free school meals.

Free School Meals
Once your child has a full-time school place you can apply for free school meals if you receive one the following:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Tax Credit, provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and your income is £16,190 or less (this figure changes each April).
• Working Tax Credit for four weeks after your employment finishes
• The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS)*

* Asylum seekers need to provide their IND Letter or IND Card, social services letter or their NASS letter in order to qualify for free school meals.

How much money could I save?
If your child is entitled to free school meals, you could save on average £10 per week or £390 per year. To qualify, your child must go to:

• an academy
• a community school
• a foundation school
• a voluntary aided school or
• a voluntary controlled school

How do I apply?
If your child attends a school in Hackney, you must apply to The Learning Trust. It doesn’t matter where you actually live. You will normally only have to make a claim once to be entitled to free school meals*.

You can download the application form here, pick one up from your child’s school or for more information download the Free School Meals leaflet here or contact the Pupil Benefits Team (020 8820 7248) at The Learning Trust.

* As long as your child attends a school in Hackney we can check your entitlement electronically against information held by the Department for Education. We will do this on a regular basis without you having to renew your application every year or having to provide proof of your entitlement.

Clothing grants
A Clothing grant is available to pupils transferring from primary to secondary school at age 11. The grant is paid in vouchers (£100.00), which can only be exchanged for clothing suitable for school.

• Your child must go to a academy, community, foundation, voluntary aided or voluntary controlled school
• You must be resident in Hackney
• You must be in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Working Tax Credit, Guarantee element of State Pension, Child Tax Credit and your income must be below £16,190.

Application should be made using Application form for clothing grant.

You should apply when you receive the secondary school transfer letter informing you of the named school offer, applications should be made before 30 June.

Children who are now 12 years of age but have not yet started in year 7 of a secondary school may still qualify for a clothing grant when they start school.

School journey grants
You can normally get a school journey grant for visiting Hackney’s Kench Hill Residential Centre, if you receive certain Department for Work & Pension (DWP) benefits or Inland Revenue Tax Credits. This is administered by your child's school who can also provide you with further information.

Summary of the Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy (SMoTS)
The summary of the SMoTS can be found on Hackney Council’s website www.hackney.gov.uk/es-cycling-and-walking-to-school-sustainable-modes-travel.htm

Help with travel fares to school for pupils aged 5–16
All children under 18 years of age can now travel free on London buses. You should get an Oyster photocard for your child. Oyster photocards are available from London Post Offices or online.

We will still provide help with travel for children who live in Hackney who can only travel to a academy, community, foundation, voluntary-aided or voluntary-controlled school by tube or train and can meet certain conditions.

Primary Pupils (aged 5-11) / Parents who have special needs or a disability
Application form for help with travel costs from home to school for primary aged children aged 5–11 years (Income Assessed) 2010/2011.

Pupils (aged 5-16)
To qualify you will need to meet the nearest school policy which means you should have previously applied to and been refused school places at all other state maintained schools including religious schools within two miles of your home (for children aged five to seven) or three miles of your home (for children aged eight or over), and therefore you could only obtain a place at a school of much greater distance. This grant is not income assessed.

Application form for help with travel costs from home to school for children aged 5–16 years (not Income Assessed) 2010/2011.

Help with travel costs for young people (aged 16-19)
You can qualify for help with travel as long as you meet all the following criteria.

• You live within the London Borough of Hackney.
• You are aged between 16 and 19 on 1 September 2011.
• You attend a full-time course (12 hours of lessons or more a week) at a maintained school or college within Hackney. You may also be eligible for support If you attend a full-time course (12 hours of lessons or more a week) at a maintained school or college outside Hackney because your chosen course of study is not available within Hackney or if there are other exceptional educational, curricular, religious/denominational or social reasons why you must study outside Hackney. If this is the case, you must live three miles or more, by the walking route from the school.
• Either you or, if you still live at home, your parents or carers must qualify for Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Guarantee element of State Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit (based on an income of less than £16,190 and where you do not qualify for Working Tax Credit).

You can also apply for travel support If you have significant special educational needs or disability and therefore we may offer travel support if you live less than three miles from your school or if you or your parents do not qualify for benefits or are an Asylum Seeker known to the Home Office (NASS) or if they earn more than £30,810 a year.

If you receive EMA you are not entitled to help with home-to-school travel costs unless you can show an exceptional case for extra support.

The list of frequently asked questions helps to explain who qualifies for help and the types of help we, The Learning Trust, have available to Hackney residents. Applications should be made using The Learning Trust application form for support with travel from home to school or college for young people aged 16 to 19 for academic year 2011/2012.

For further details about help with travel between home and school or college for young people aged 16 to 19 please see the 16 plus Transport Policy 2011.

For further information on any of the above Pupil Benefits please call us on 020 8820 7246.