Privacy policy information

Details of information obtained from third parties

DfE Eligibility Checking Engine (ECE) – by inputting the applicant’s National Insurance/NASS number, date of birth and their surname (provided by the applicant) the checking system returns an eligibility result. This identifies if an applicant is eligible to claim for benefits-based free school meals or if we need to view proof of benefit information from the applicant. The result returned by the ECE only provides an equivalent yes or no answer, if eligible, it will also provide a tier category, it doesn’t provide any other personal details or details of the benefit the applicant is in receipt of.

If we do need to ask for proof of benefit the applicant will need to send us a copy of their benefit letter/benefit statement to review.

Both sources of information are not from publicly accessible sources.

How is your information used?

Your information will be used to:

  • Assess whether your child is eligible for benefits-based free school meals.
  • if your application is successful, subsequent rechecks of your eligibility will be carried out annually, before the start of each academic year, to assess whether your child continues to be eligible for benefits-based free school meals

Research and statistics

Anonymised and pseudonymised data may be used for research and statistical purposes. Any data collected may be used for research and statistical purposes that are relevant and compatible with the purpose that the data was collected for.

Who has access to your information?
  • System Co-ordinator team for the purpose of processing and maintaining free school meals applications
  • System Support team
  • Performance and Integration Manager
  • Data and Reporting Analysts

Who is your information shared with?

We will share your information with:

Department for Education (via the ECE checking system)

By inputting the applicant’s National Insurance Number/NASS Number, date of birth and their surname the ECE system returns a free school meals (FSM) eligibility result.

Schools

The child’s school will be informed of their FSM eligibility status. When a child transfers schools, details regarding FSM eligibility may also be verified with the new school/LA and the FSM Team.

School Transport Team

In some cases, to be eligible for support with school transport costs FSM eligibility is checked.

Shropshire Music Service

Students who are eligible for free school meals are able to receive music tuition at a reduced cost.

Shropshire Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF)

Students who are eligible for targeted free school meals are able to access free holidays activities through the programme. The HAF team may contact you regarding their provision.

Statutory agencies, National Fraud Authority

We may share your information with statutory agencies in line with our legal obligations and/or in completion of our public tasks.

Other areas of the council if they feel there is other support or services that you are eligible for

The sharing of information takes place to verify entitlement to free school meals and delivery of the service. You may also be contacted by other areas of the council if they feel there is other support or services that you are eligible for.

We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

What are your rights in relation the personal data we process?

Please refer to the main Shropshire Council privacy notice for this information.

How long will we keep your information for?

We keep and dispose of all records in line with our corporate retention schedule. We will comply with Data Protection legislation in regards to how long we keep your data.

What security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information?

We are strongly committed to data security and will take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard the information you provide to us. However, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us. We recommend that you take every precaution to protect your personal information.

Keeping your data up to date

We want to ensure any information we hold is accurate. You can help us by promptly informing us of any changes to the information we hold about you.

Details of any automated decision processes

When free school meals applications are being processed there is a direct link to DWP data (DfE ECE checking system) to confirm if the entitlement criteria is met. This is to ensure accurate decisions using current data. It also means that, in the majority of cases, the applicant doesn’t need to supply supporting documents.

Under 13

If you are accessing online services and are under the age of 13‚ please get your parent/guardian's permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.

Complaints and concerns about the handling of your personal information

Please refer to the main Shropshire Council privacy notice for this information.

This notice was last updated on 30 July 2026.