Hardship Fund

The cost-of-living crisis has had wide-ranging negative impacts for children and their families. One consequence of the crisis is that it has significantly impacted children’s learning and exacerbated existing barriers to education for disadvantaged children the most, crucially impacting their readiness to learn in school.

London Fields Primary School will use the funds granted to address and alleviate barriers to education brought about by the cost-of-living crisis. The Fund will be disbursed to minimise the impact of learning caused by a lack of provision for basic needs (good food and warmth) for a period of 18 months, from May 2023 to September 2024. The School will be responsible for and have autonomy in identifying the financial hardship and level of funds required for the recipients.

Please click here to access the application.

Eligibility:

Funds will be for children and families whereby:
• Children are eligible for free school meals
• The family is known to staff to have severe and increased financial vulnerability as a consequence of the cost-of-living crisis

Allocation:

The School will determine how to allocate the funds to address the following barriers to education exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis (non-exhaustive examples provided):

- Food insecurity – school breakfast, meals during school holidays, healthy snacks during schoolday
- Essential clothes – school uniform, seasonal clothes, basic items
- Resources – to support academic learning
- Enrichment activities – extra-curricular school trips, cultural capital experiences