A range of support is available to help families and students experiencing financial hardship.

Please take a look at the information provided on this page in order to make sure you are receiving your full entitlement.

Free School Meals

The Government is allocating funding to schools to support students from lower income families to do their very best. This funding is called the ‘Pupil Premium’ and is allocated, in part, on how many students receive free school meals. With this money we can enhance the opportunities and support offered within school.

If your child is registered to receive free school meals then:

  • Your child can purchase healthy food and drinks from the school canteen at break and / or lunchtime to the maximum of £3.10 per day. This is a saving of up to £589 per year.
  • You will be eligible to receive support for the costs of a school trip or visit.
  • You will be eligible to receive support with uniform costs when your child first comes to the school in Year 7.

Please see the school’s Pupil Premium Information to find out about other ways we are providing extra support. Even if your child does not want to have their free school meal we would ask you to continue to apply so that the school receives the extra valuable funding which is a significant help to us.

Do you qualify?

You may register your child for Free School Meals if you are in receipt of any of the benefits listed on the Derbyshire County Council website – it is not just if you are unemployed – click here to check. Students may also register for Free School Meals if they receive any of the benefits listed themselves. Come and talk to us if you are not sure.

No one will know your child has been registered to receive free school meals and this will not affect any other benefits that you claim.

Register your child today

Registering is really quick and easy. If you think you qualify, click here to find an online form on the Derbyshire County Council website.

16-19 Bursary Fund

Lady Manners School 16-19 Bursary Fund is aimed at providing assistance to students whose access to, or completion of, education is inhibited by financial constraints or barriers. It is targeted towards those young people who face the greatest financial barriers to participation; such as the costs of transport, meals, books and equipment.

Full details of the Lady Manners School 16-19 Bursary Fund are detailed below, together with a link to register for the Bursary.

The LMS 16-19 Bursary Fund has three elements:

Defined Vulnerable Groups Award – (up to £1,200 per academic year) payable to students who are:

  • in care
  • care leavers
  • in receipt of income support or Universal Credit (UC) in their own name and financially supporting themselves
  • receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in their own right, as well as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit (UC) in their own right

Discretionary Award – Level 1 – (up to £4 per school day during this academic year: that is 190 school days for a Year 12 student, and 175 school days for a Year 13 student) payable to students who are:

  • in receipt of Free School Meals
  • living in a household where annual income does not exceed £16,385 (i.e. in receipt of Income Support/Universal Credit, Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Related Employment Support Allowance, support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the guarantee element of State Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit).

Discretionary Award – Level 2 – (up to £1.80 per school day during this academic year: that is 190 school days for a Year 12 student and 175 school days for a Year 13 student) payable to students who are:

  • living in a household where annual income is between £16,386 and £21,012

For students in receipt of the above awards, the Bursary Fund can also contribute towards specific essential items related to their programme of study, such as sketchbooks, revision guides, and UCAS fee where applicable, and if requested by the student. Trips forming a compulsory part of the course will also be fully paid for. Depending on a student’s individual circumstances, further help may also be available from the Bursary Fund, and may include equipment loans, where the Pastoral Team feel these are reasonable and appropriate for the student concerned. The Bursary Fund is not intended to support costs incurred by extra-curricular activities or to provide additional learning support such as extra tutoring.

Once a Bursary Fund Application has been submitted each student will meet with the Pastoral Manager to assess their needs and payments will be awarded where needs have been identified. Eligibility will be based on actual financial needs, such as the distance a student needs to travel to school. Payments will be made in kind where possible, e.g. bus passes. Ongoing assessments of need will be made throughout the academic year. Not all requests may be approved.

The school has the discretion to set certain conditions for the payment of awards from the Bursary Fund. Attendance will be monitored in line with the Sixth Form Attendance Guidelines.  The Defined Vulnerable Groups and Discretionary Awards are paid on the condition that full attendance is achieved. Any absence which is not related to an authorised educational activity is likely to result in a deduction from the monthly bursary payment, although the school will use its discretion on a case by case basis for absences beyond the student’s control.

The school has the discretion to stop or reduce the monthly bursary payment if it sees fit. Possible reasons could include:

  • Persistent failure to comply with any of the expectations or requirements of the Sixth Form (e.g. attendance, uniform, behaviour, completion of coursework);
  • Absence from an external examination without good reason;
  • Failure to return textbooks or other property belonging to the school.

Applications may be made at any time during the year, but in order for the monthly payments to be backdated to September, completed applications and all necessary supporting documentation, should be submitted by 31 October.

Additional information regarding support for post 16 students is available from the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

For full details of the Lady Manners School 16-19 Bursary Fund, please contact Miss Burn/Mrs Sweet in the Sixth Form Pastoral Office or email sixthform@ladymanners.derbyshire.sch.uk.