NEWS NAOreports back on free school meals voucher scheme


The National Audit Office (NAO) has reported that after some schools and families experienced problems with the free school meals voucher scheme, steps taken by the Department for Education (DfE) and its contractor Edenred led to improvements over the life of the scheme. At January 2020, 1.44 million children in England were eligible for free


school meals. Following the closure of schools to most pupils in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DfE announced a national free school meals voucher scheme as a temporary substitute for children receiving meals in school. The vouchers were worth £15 per week for each eligible child. The government approved the scheme on 13 March and DfE launched it


18 days later on 31 March. In order to get the scheme running quickly, DfE looked first to existing government suppliers to help deliver the scheme and appointed Edenred. Edenred was the sole supplier to government departments and public bodies under a Crown Commercial Service framework covering employee benefit and recognition schemes, including vouchers, via an online platform. In the first few weeks after the launch, schools reported that it was difficult


and time-consuming to register for the scheme and they faced problems logging onto Edenred's website, with staff having to do this late at night to avoid long waiting times. The number of calls to Edenred's helpline grew


rapidly, peaking at 3,940 on 14 April. The number of emails Edenred received from school and parents also grew sharply, peaking at 8,878 on 29 April. Schools and parents said they could not get prompt support from Edenred, either by telephone or email. DfE and Edenred took action to improve the scheme's capacity and


performance. At the height of the problems, DfE officials held daily calls with Edenred to monitor progress and ministers also intervened directly. In April, Edenred took steps to upgrade its IT systems, improve communications with schools and families, and help supermarkets manage demand for vouchers. The scheme's performance improved. The time it took Edenred to process


orders dropped from an average of nearly five days in April 2020 to within hours in July 2020. Average waiting times for schools and parents to access Edenred's website fell from over 42 minutes for schools and over 12 minutes for parents in late April, to virtually no wait at all by July 2020. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: "DfE got the voucher scheme up


and running quickly to support vulnerable children who would no longer be receiving free meals at school. "Problems at the start of the scheme led to a frustrating experience for


many schools and families, but DfE and Edenred worked hard to get on top of these issues. Performance steadily improved as the scheme progressed." The closing date is Saturday 7 November 2020.


uhttps://www.nao.org.uk/report/investigation-into-the-free-school-meals- voucher-scheme/


UK Reads to reach over 3000 children with free books in time for Christmas


One month since it launched, the World Literacy Foundation’s (WLF) UK initiative has received an overwhelming response from charity partners and community organisations, demonstrating the serious need for children living in deprivation to increase access to fun and engaging books and literacy support. Head of UK and EU for WLF Caroline Burkie said, “Every child, no matter


their circumstances should have a book of their own at home so that they can experience the joy of reading and reach their full potential. When a child struggles with reading it impacts upon every aspect of their life and they do not have the same life opportunities as their literate peers. 380,000 children do not own a book at home and this Christmas, children living in poverty who were struggling with literacy before Covid-19 hit, will be experiencing the devastating effects of a widened literacy learning gap. Having the opportunity to read books at home alone and with their family is essential to support their development, wellbeing and future.” Working closely with a network of community groups, charity partners and


UK Reads Ambassadors, high quality second hand books donated by Awesome Books are distributed to the UK’s most deprived areas and most in need children and young people.


Sannah Maan, Chief Giving Officer at Awesome Books said, “Donating books and empowering people through literacy one of our core values so we are delighted to see books going to children who need them most, especially this Christmas”. Ms Burkie continued, “We are extremely grateful for the awareness that


Marcus Rashford has raised about the urgent need to support children and young people struggling with literacy and the world that books can open to them if given the right resources. It is so important for young people to have positive role models and stories to relate to especially during such uncertain times. Book deliveries are being made across the country to emergency baby support groups, food banks and schools, all within the UK's most deprived areas and it is only possible due to the donations people give.” The charity’s Christmas Appeal, ‘Give the gift of literacy’ is raising money


to provide books and literacy support to the 380,000 children who are at risk of losing out on the most formative years of their lives with fun and engaging books. uwww.ukreads.org/christmas-appeal-2020


Best in Welsh education revealed at national awards


Nine of the most inspiring, talented, and dedicated teachers and education staff from across Wales have been revealed as winners of the fourth annual Professional Teaching Awards Cymru. The pandemic didn’t stop


the celebrations at the virtual ceremony with 26 finalists and their schools, family and friends all tuning in to watch. Hosted by comedian and presenter Tudur Owen and entertainment provided by acapella trio Sorela, Education Minister Kirsty Williams revealed the winners. The awards recognise the brilliant work that our teachers and education


staff do for our schools across Wales, and after a difficult year for the education sector, provided some much-needed positivity for those involved. David Church, from Mountain Ash Comprehensive School in Mountain


12 www.education-today.co.uk


Ash, won a new and very special award for 2020, the Pupil (or Pupils’) Award for Best Teacher. David was nominated by his pupils for being not only a great teacher, but a role model and a friend. The judges were blown away with the comments received by his pupils, who all agreed that David does everything in his power to help them succeed. Victoria Carey, from Mary Immaculate High School in Cardiff, won the


award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School. Known for her warmth, care and focus on achieving the best for her learners, Victoria impressed the judges with her commitment and enthusiasm for her role. They found her passion and dedication for her subject to be infectious, and her impact on young people’s success to be outstanding. For the third time, the Education Minister also revealed the winner of the


Welsh Government Special Recognition Award. This special award was open to anyone working in education, in whatever capacity. This year, for the first time ever, it was awarded to every single person in education including teachers, school staff and all of the learners.


u@WG_Education December 2020


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