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Free School Meals Change

Upcoming changes to Free School Meals from September 2026 and how these changes may affect eligibility for Healthy Holidays Calderdale.

You may be aware, from September 2026, receiving Free School Meals will not automatically mean a child is eligible for Healthy Holidays Calderdale. Eligibility for the programme will continue to be linked to Targeted Free Schools Meals.

More about free school meals categories:

FSMWho Benefits?What Children Receive?
TargetedPupils whose families receive
Universal Credit with annual
household earnings of £7,400 or less
Free school meals during term time
Free places at Healthy Holidays
Calderdale schemes during the holidays
Other support e.g. uniform grants
ExpandedPupils who do not qualify for targeted
FSM, but whose families receive
Universal Credit
Free school meals during term time
UniversalAll pupils in Reception, Year 1 and
Year 2 regardless of family income.
Free school meals during term time

There will be 3 categories of free school meals:

  • Targeted
  • Expanded
  • Universal

Depending which category your family falls under, your children may or may not also be eligible to attend free Healthy Holidays Calderdale schemes during school holidays.

Transitional Protection Changes

Since April 2018, around 10,000 children and young people in Calderdale have had free school meals protected under Transitional Protection. These protections will end in July 2026. From September 2026, some children may no longer qualify for free school meals, while other families may become eligible for free school meals for the first time.

Receiving free school meals does not automatically mean a child is eligible for the Healthy Holidays Calderdale Programme. Eligibility for Healthy Holidays Calderdale will remain linked to Targeted Free School Meals.

VAC + Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.

25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.  As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.

VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.