G&B ECEv2: Student Details FSM History panel updated with FSM Eligibility Verification Date and FSM Category (3.89)
Description
Two new items have been added to the FSM History panel in the Student Details screen.
- FSM Eligibility Verification Date
- FSM Category
The FSM Eligibility Verification Date records the date on which a pupil’s Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility was verified. This enables accurate reporting in census exports and other systems.
Previously, there was no dedicated field to capture when FSM eligibility was verified. This addition ensures census exports and statutory returns can report accurate verification timestamps as required for the 2026/27 academic year.
To ensure compliance with national policy changes for the 2026/27 academic year, a new FSM Category codeset has been implemented. This update enables consistent categorisation of Free School Meal (FSM) records across the system, supporting statutory requirements for census, funding, and data exchange.
It standardises the recording of FSM eligibility tiers (Targeted vs. Expanded), ensuring that school and Local Authority (LA) records remain synchronised during data transfers (CTF, B2B, DX XML).
The following lookup codes have been introduced to categorise FSM eligibility:
- TFSM (Targeted FSM)
For households meeting existing income thresholds (<£7.4k) or specific eligibility statuses (NRPF, Pension Credit, etc.). - EFSM (Expanded FSM)
For Universal Credit recipients with income above the threshold (eligible for meals only; no additional funding). - OFSM (Other FSM)
For Management Information (MI) purposes only; not collected in census.
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