Free School Meals update - Easter 2026

Dear parents and carers,

We wanted to share with you the support available to families over the Easter holiday period for students who are entitled to Free School Meals.

Sandwell Council are pleased to announce funding will be available to support FSM students with a food voucher over the two weeks Easter holiday. This will include students with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) that schools have identified as having eligibility.

A voucher will be issued to the value of £20 per student.

These vouchers will be sent via TEXT or EMAIL to your mobile phone. If you do not have internet access on your mobile and are therefore unable to view the voucher, you can forward the message to someone who has and they can help you redeem the voucher.

If you are unable to do this, please contact us as soon as possible.

You will receive a link via TEXT or email to obtain an e-voucher:

• Click the link within the message, choose which supermarket you would like an e-voucher for and press submit. The supermarkets available for selection are: Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Iceland, B&M and Farmfoods.

• You will then be sent an e-voucher for your chosen supermarket. Please be aware that the timescale for this to be sent will vary by supermarket. The expected turnaround is approximately 24 hours.

If you have any questions about the message that you receive from Wonde, or if you believe you should have received a message from Wonde and haven’t, please contact [email protected]

Food Vouchers Going Forward – As you are aware, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has, since 2022 continued to support parents in receipt of benefits-related free school meals by providing food vouchers from the Household Support Funding received from the government. Following the introduction of the Crisis and Resilience Funding received from the government, going forward, the authority will now be prioritising different areas of support needed for those in crisis. This will therefore mean the authority will no longer support funding in the form of food vouchers during the school holiday periods.

For those families who are struggling or in need of extra support during the school holidays, Sandwell continue to offer Holiday Activities and Food during the Easter break. Eligible children can enjoy fun activities and a meal, free of charge. Families have been contacted directly about this offer and more details are here: https://holidayactivities.sandwell.gov.uk/

There is also support available on the Supporting Sandwell website at www.sandwell.gov.uk/supportingsandwell including financial advice.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

DR L MASON