Dear Parent/Carer
Important update regarding discretionary grant vouchers for children receiving Free School Meals.
The Household Support Fund (HSF) provided by the Government ended on the 31 March 2026 and this has been replaced by the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
Suffolk County Council (SCC) is pleased to confirm that funds have been made available to extend the support provided to low-income families in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM). As such, discretionary grant vouchers will be provided for May half term 2026.
Please be aware that there may be reductions in funding available from the Government in the future and this could impact on the provision of discretionary vouchers after May 2026.
Each eligible child will receive a £15 supermarket voucher, provided by Pluxee, to help you with essential living costs.
Please be reminded that vouchers have a 2-month expiry period and must be redeemed within this time. Unfortunately, vouchers cannot be reissued once they have expired.
Once redeemed, the expiry conditions of your chosen supermarket will apply, and you will have at minimum 12 months to use the voucher. Therefore, it is vital you redeem the voucher promptly, even if you wish to spend it later.
If you experience any issues redeeming your voucher or have not received it by the start of the school holidays, we strongly urge you to contact our team as soon as possible to avoid missing the redemption deadline.
As with previous issues of vouchers, the SCC Free School Meals (FSM) team will place the voucher order using the information provided by your child's school. Please ensure that your child’s school holds the most up to date contact information for you, so that the voucher is sent to the correct recipient.
If the school has previously printed the vouchers on your behalf, then tthis arrangement will continue, or you can ask for the voucher to be sent via text message to your mobile phone number. Please inform your child’s school if you wish to receive the vouchers via text message, if you have previously been unable to receive them via email.
We aim to have all vouchers sent to recipients by Thursday 21 May 2026. If you have not received the vouchers by this date or in the event of any queries regarding the vouchers, please contact us at freeschoolmeals@suffolk.gov.uk, rather than speaking to the school directly.
Please note that if you have children attending different Suffolk schools, voucher orders may be processed at different times. As a result, you may receive your vouchers separately.
If you have more than one child at the same school, you will only receive one email, and the additional vouchers will be visible once you click on the redemption link.
Please look out for an email from noresponse@vouchers.pluxee.uk, and please also check junk and spam folders before contacting us directly.
We hope that this discretionary grant goes some way to help in supporting your family during the school holiday, whether buying food or freeing up some income to go towards energy and water bills or other essential living costs.
If you are financially struggling and require additional support, further information can be found at: www.suffolk.gov.uk/community-and-safety/communities/healthier/costof-living-support/.
Yours faithfully
Lucy Nicholas (she/her)
Resource Manager (Admissions and School Travel)
Directorate of Children and Young People Suffolk County Council