Admission to Secondary School (2025)

Free School Meals

School meals are available for all children, however you can apply for Means Tested Free School Meals if you are receiving one of the following:

• Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of less than £7,400
• Income Support or Guarantee Pension Credit
• income-based Job Seekers Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance (income related)
• Child Tax Credit (but NOT Working Tax Credit) and your income for Tax Credit purposes must be less than £16,190.00 (details are shown on your Tax Credit award notice)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• support under Part IV of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 - you will need to provide evidence of this

You can apply in the following ways:

• online via Gateshead Council's website
• by telephone - 0191 433 3729

You will be asked to confirm your identity, provide your National Insurance Number, your date of birth and the school details for your child. This will enable us to check your eligibility.

Extra funding for your child's school

For every valid application for free school meals, not only will your child receive a healthy, nutritious meal, but your child's school can claim:

• £1,480 (24/25) per pupil in reception to year 6 - primary
• £1,050 (24/25) per pupil in years 7 to 11 - secondary
• £2,570 (24/25) looked after children (LAC)

The school can claim this funding each year for six years, which can really help to provide the best environment to support your child's learning and development.

If your child was entitled to receive a free school meal on April 1 2018, or became entitled at any time after this date, in the majority of cases they will be protected to receive their free meal until Universal Credit has been fully rolled out. This is estimated not to be until at least March 31 2023.

Once Universal Credit is fully rolled out, your child will then continue to receive a free school meal until the end of their current phase of education. Or when they leave school, whichever is the earliest.

All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state funded schools are eligible for free school meals regardless of your income. This scheme is called Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). You do not have to apply to be eligible for this scheme; however, it is still important to apply for the means tested free school meals if you meet the relevant criteria shown above as this might provide extra funding (as detailed above) for your child's school. Once your child commences year 3 (KS2) the Universal Free School Meal will cease and to continue to receive a meal under the means tested scheme a completed application form MUST be returned so entitlement can be established.

If your child or children attends Heworth Grange please contact the school directly as we do not process applications for this school.

If you would like more information about free school meals please ring Gateshead Council on 0191 433 3729 or 0191 433 4848.

School Catering

School catering at Heworth Grange, Kingsmeadow and XP Gateshead schools are provided by Gateshead Council's award winning in-house service.

Our cafeteria menus offer pupils a choice of two-course meal options and a selection of items from the tariff. The printed tariff is available from the servery showing the price of individual items and can also be seen on our website.

All Secondary Schools are "cashless" at the point of sale. The cashless system reduces queuing times and protects the identity of pupils receiving free school meals.

Our fully trained catering staff encourage pupils to choose well from a variety of tasty, popular foods. Most of the menu is homemade and meals are cooked fresh on site every day.

Non-meat choices are available daily. Gateshead's menu complies with the National School Food Standards. Many of the foods we use have been reduced in fat, sugar and salt and many of our ingredients are locally sourced.

Please contact your school if your child requires a special diet for medical or ethnic reasons. The Unit Catering Manager will require a completed application form and correspondence from your child's doctor, consultant or dietician in order to provide a diet suitable for your child's needs.

If you require further information about school catering or the cashless system, please call Gateshead Council's Operations Manager (Catering) on: 0191 433 5516, or contact the Unit Catering Manager at the school. Alternatively, please see Gateshead Council's website.

For information about the catering services at Grace College, Cardinal Hume St Thomas More, Lord Lawson of Beamish, Thorp Academy and Whickham secondary schools please contact the school.

School clothing

Most schools operate a school uniform code however schools must not act as sole suppliers of school uniform.Details of the uniform are usually contained in the school's prospectus that can be obtained from the school. Some schools may provide their own help and support with regards to their school uniform for example for those families who are eligible for free school meals or who are entitled to the maximum level of working tax credit. Parents should contact the Head Teacher at the school to ask if they offer support. Gateshead Council do not have any general arrangements for providing help with buying school uniform or PE kit. Gateshead Council do not provide a uniform grant.

For more information visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms (opens new window)

Charging for School Activities

Under the Education Act 1996 (sections 449-462) each school's governing body must draw up and review their policy for charging arrangements. Academies (including free schools, studio schools) are required through their funding agreements to comply with the law on charging for school activities.

The 1996 Act aims to:

• maintain your child's right to free education
• make sure that activities offered completely or mainly during normal teaching time are available to all pupils, whether or not their parents can or want to help meet the costs
• emphasise that there is no legal requirement to charge for any form of education or related activity, but to give LA's and governing bodies the power to charge for optional activities they provide completely or mainly out of school hours
• confirm the right of LA's and governing bodies to ask for voluntary contributions for the benefit of the school, or to support any activity organised, in or outside, school hours

The policies determined by individual governing bodies may differ but there is a statutory duty on all governing bodies to act in accordance with the 1996 education act and all policies must adhere to legal requirements. Please contact the school's head teacher for details of the school's policies.

The 2018 guidance Charging for school activitiesclearly identifies those activities which school governing bodies and local authorities can and cannot charge for, they include:

School governing bodies and local authorities, cannot charge for:

• an admission application to any state funded school - paragraph 1.9 (n) of the 'School Admissions Code 2014' rules out requests for financial contributions as any part of the admissions process
• education provided during school hours (including the supply of any materials, books, instruments or other equipment)
• education provided outside school hours if it is part of the national curriculum1, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education
• instrumental or vocal tuition, for pupils learning individually or in groups, unless the tuition is provided at the request of the pupil's parent
• entry for a prescribed public examination, if the pupil has been prepared for it at the school
• examination re-sit(s) if the pupil is being prepared for the re-sit(s) at the school

Schools and local authorities can charge for:

• any materials, books, instruments, or equipment, where the child's parent wishes him or her to own them
• optional extras
• music and vocal tuition, in limited circumstances
• certain early years provision
• community facilities

Residential visits

Schools cannot charge for:

• education provided on any visit that takes place during school hours
• education provided on any visit that takes place outside school hours if it is part of the national curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education
• supply teachers to cover for those teachers who are absent from school accompanying pupils on a residential visit

Schools can charge for:

• board and lodging and the charge must not exceed the actual cost

When a school informs parents about a forthcoming visit, they should make it clear that parents who can prove they are in receipt of the following benefits will be exempt from paying the cost of board and lodging:

• Universal Credit in prescribed circumstances
• Income Support (IS)
• Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA)
• support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit, provided that Working Tax Credit is not also received
• an income-related employment and support allowance
• Working Tax Credit

Board and lodging

Schools can charge for:

• overnight board and lodging providing the charge does not exceed the actual cost
• extended day services offered to day pupils, for example breakfast clubs, after-school clubs, tea and supervised homework sessions

Any extended day services for day pupils at state boarding schools, and the associated charges, must be optional.

Schools cannot make attendance at and the payment of charges for extended day services compulsory.

Primary schools and academies

Secondary schools and academies

Specialist schools

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