1. Please confirm whether schools under your jurisdiction are required to operate a policy of auto-enrolment for Free School Meals for eligible pupils.
Currently there is no requirement for schools to operate an auto-enrolment policy for free-school meals. With changes to eligibility coming into practice from September 2026, Wokingham Borough Council will be exploring options to move towards auto-enrolment and a Project Steering Group is being assembled to undertake this activity.

2. If such a policy is in place, please provide:
a) The date on which the policy was introduced;
b) The rationale for introducing the policy;
c) The number of pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals but who were not enrolled, prior to the policy being introduced;
d) The total number of additional Pupil Premium allocations that the schools will receive because of the policy, as well as the total monetary value of such allocations;
e) Any other relevant benefits of this policy to pupils, parents, and/or school staff, if applicable.
We do not have a policy on this.

3. If no such policy is in place, please provide:
a) Any considerations of this policy that have taken place;
We will shortly be considering options to move towards auto-enrolment and if the business case is agreed at senior officer level, this change would be expected to take place by September 2026 for the beginning of the next academic year (2026/27)

b) The number of pupils in your jurisdiction who are eligible for Free School Meals but who are not enrolled;
This number is to be verified through further analysis, however we estimate the figure to be 379 pupils. This is based on the national average of hidden demand at 11%

c) The estimated number of additional Pupil Premium allocations that the schools would receive if this policy were to be implemented, as well as the estimated total monetary value of such allocations;
We estimates an increase of 379 pupils. The monetary value is not possible to calculate at this stage due to analysis required in pupil and cohort breakdown. This will be part of the focus of the councils soon to be established project group, scheduled for May 2026.

d) Any future date on which this policy will be introduced, if applicable.
September/October 2026