It checks your eligibility for free school meals. If you complete the process, the school will be able to process the free meal application for your child. As a thank you, you will also be able to download free Virus software to use on your home machine, regardless of whether you are eligible for free meals or not.
 
Please be aware that in order to access the free software you will need to have a child that is currently on roll at a participating school and it must be possible to link their user account with your own user account.

As of September 2014 all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to receive free meals as a result of a government initiative.
 
However, it is important for all parents to test whether they would be entitled to free school meals if this scheme did not exist.
 
This is because where parents are shown to be eligible, schools can claim extra government funds to improve the school’s resources and provide a better service to children.

If you work at a school that subscribes to LGfL or TRUSTnet, you most likely have a user account from that school which should be used as your login for this service. This type of account looks something like jsmith3.125
 
If you have applied for school places online, this would have been done via the eAdmissions service and an account ending in .uso would have been created for you during the process. Your application will not be affected in any way by using the same account here.
 
If your school uses ParentComms:Pay+ or ParentComms:Reporter and you have registered online, the account created will end in .uso and should be used to access this service.
 
If you are still unsure if you have an account, you can try to enter your details by using the blue button called Continue. The system will run a check for your details and will inform you if an account already exists for you. Your username will be provided and you will be able to retrieve your password by text. You will need to use that account to log in.

Enter the site via the Check eligibility button. Then use the blue button called Continue to enter your details. If the system recognises you, the username of your existing account will be shown on screen. You will then be able to text a password reminder to your mobile. You will be unable to create a new account and will need to use the existing account to log in.

If your child’s school is participating, they will be able to see that you are eligible and should process the information accordingly. You may wish to contact the school a week or so after the test and ensure they have taken the relevant action if they have not communicated with you.
 
If your child’s school is not yet participating in this service, they will have been notified about your outcome but may not have taken any action. Please do not assume your application has been processed by them and contact the school to confirm.

Whilst you cannot claim free school meals you will be able to obtain free antivirus software once you are able to register one or more children to your user account. This is essential because the software license requires that a child be on roll at a participating school.

There are several reasons to link your accounts.
 
1. If you would like to use the free AntiVirus software being offered via this service, it is important to link your account with your child's as it is this action that allows us to validate that you are entitled to the free software. This is a condition of the licensing agreement as the child must be found within the system and shown to be on roll at a participating school.
 
2. Unless you link your account with your child's it is impossible for the school to know that you have taken part in this process. If you are eligible for free school meals, linking your account with your child's is essential to allow the school to process the free school meal application on behalf of your child.

Your child may be able to provide it to you – this will depend on whether these accounts are widely used in the school and the age of the child. If your child does not know their username, you or the child should be able to obtain it from the school – when contacting the school you should request the LGfL USO username which ends in a number and looks something like: martiw235.998

Log in to the FSM website with your accountand repeat the process of linking your child's account with yours as they will have become un-linked when your child left the original school. Linking your account with your child's is essential to allow the correct school to become aware that there is a free school meal application to be processed on behalf of your child.

No, unless the details that you entered originally have changed. Schools have the ability to re-check your status, unless you selected the privacy option to remove your details after your original application. The schools will be able to adjust their records accordingly. If you need to begin paying for school meals where you didn’t previously, it is up to the school to alert you.

The details you have entered are saved within the system which complies fully with the Data Protection Act. Your data will be used only for the purpose of checking your eligibility for free school meals. Schools will be able re-check your eligibility in the future to ensure they have the correct information. If your status changes and you either cease being eligible or become eligible for free school meals, the schools will know and should be able to adjust their records accordingly. If you need to begin paying for school meals where you didn’t previously, it is up to the school to alert you to this.

Yes! You should notice that the web address starts with https which means that the site uses SSL encryption, the same as you would find in online shopping or online banking. As soon as you log in, anything you enter is secure and cannot be accessed by unauthorised third parties.

You should be aware that communications with the Local Authority (including online transactions) may be subject to monitoring and recording only for purposes permitted by the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 in order to prevent or detect a crime, or investigate or detect the unauthorised use of the service.