Dear Parents & Carers May 2024

Once again we will be working with the Yardley Education Foundation to provide eligible parents a grant of £70
towards their child’s school uniform, but this year for reasons detailed below the grant application is only open to
pupils in Year 6 going into Year 7 and pupils in Year 9 going into Year 10. Please read the information sent to us by
the Yardley Trust Foundation carefully to see if your child qualifies for the grant

In recent years, the Foundation has been working hard to build relationships with schools and ensure that as
many qualifying students apply for the grant as able. There had in the past been unspent revenue, which our
Audit team felt needed to be spent. We have increased our spending year on year to reduce this balance, but
with the added impact of Covid this has gone far beyond what we imagined. We have also been impacted by
protected FSM due to the universal credit roll out and on testing, it would seem that many of those receiving
our vouchers are not currently in a position of need. As the additional funds are now suitably depleted, we
have had to make some difficult decisions to ensure our spending is more in line with our income to ensure
long term sustainability.

The Trust have decided to restrict the uniform grant to 2 year groups during a child’s journey through
school. This will be in the form of a voucher for Year 7’s when they join the school, and another in Year 10
when they start their options. For both year groups, the entitlement will be for those students who currently
qualify for Free School meals, to qualify you must complete an online Free School Meal Application using the
link below or you can complete the attached form and return it to the school and they will make an online
application on your behalf. Please note that incomplete information may result in your application being
declined.

The child must also live within the Ancient Parish of Yardley. The Ancient Parish of Yardley no longer exists,
but much of Hall Green is situated within these boundaries. I am writing to you as our records show that your
child may meet both of these criteria and may therefore be eligible for the £70 uniform voucher

For Year 9 into 10

1. Each parent/carer will need to apply for Free School Meals using the enclosed form or this link Online FSM
Application (cloudforedu.org.uk)
2. Vouchers will be issued during June after the Trust have checked your eligibility using your application from
last year. If you did not apply last year, please contact the School Office 0121 628 8787 for further
instructions.
Please note that whatever the outcome of the FSM Application, this will not affect your protected eligibility for Free School Meals

For Year 6 into 7

1. Each parent/carer will need to apply first for Free School Meals using the enclosed form or this link Online
FSM Application (cloudforedu.org.uk)
2. For Year 6 into 7 Pupils only, please also complete the application for the Uniform Grant using the Yardley
Trust online system, which takes roughly two minutes. Deadline for this link is Friday 5th July 2024. If
successful, the grant will be awarded directly to your address and you will be given information as to where
the voucher can be redeemed in August.

 

Please note the following points in order to make the Uniform Grant application process easier:

• Date of Birth needs to be input in dd/mm/yyyy format.
• The drop down list for selecting the school is also quite sensitive, so please ensure the correct school has
  been selected prior to submitting your application as this is the school that your details will be sent to in
  order to check you meet the criteria.
• Please include a space in your postcode, this makes the checking process is correct at Yardley Trust.
• When you submit your application, the page should clarify that it has been received. Please refrain from
  calling Yardley Trust unless absolutely necessary, they dealt with over 5000 applications last year and will
  need to concentrate their time on getting the vouchers issued.
• The closing date for applications will be Sunday 2nd July 2023.
• Vouchers should be issued the last week in July. Yardley Trust are looking into the possibility of issuing
  voucher codes rather than paper vouchers. This is still in early planning, so please be certain that your
  email address is correct and monitored for this reason.

Yours sincerely

Mr M T Hosfield,

Deputy Headteacher

Map of Yardley Trust Area

FSM Application Form 2024