Transitional protection ensures that children eligible for Free School Meals as of 31st March 2025 continue receiving them until they complete their current education phase. You can use Protected FSM statuses to prevent these children from having their entitlement automatically removed when their family's eligibility changes. Follow these steps to set up and manage transitional protection.
Before you start
You need the following:
A Free School Meal Status marked as Protected in System Manager → Lookup Editor → Pupil → Free School Meal status.
Permissions to update child FSM statuses.
Step 1: Set children to a Protected status
You can update multiple children to a Protected status at once using batch updates.
In FSMB, click Child Enquiry.
Enter your search criteria to identify children eligible as of 31st March 2025:
Select the NC Year Range for the relevant cohort.
Select the current entitled FSM Status from the **FSM Status** drop-down list on the FSMB tab.
Enter 01/09/2024 to 31/03/2025 in the Status Start Date between fields.
Click OK to return the results.
Click the FSM Status Batch button on the toolbar.
Select your Protected status from the FSM Status drop-down list.
Enter or select the Start Date.
Click Run Batch Update.
The selected children will be updated to the Protected status and will not be affected by future eligibility checks.
Step 2: Monitor children under protection
You can search for children currently under transitional protection at any time.
In FSMB, click Child Enquiry.
On the FSMB tab, select your Protected status from the FSM Status drop-down list.
Click OK.
The results show all children currently under transitional protection.
Step 3: Remove protection when children change phases
When children complete their current education phase, you must remove their protection so their eligibility can be checked.
In FSMB, click Child Enquiry.
Select the NC Year Range for children exiting their phase:
Year 6 for children leaving primary.
Year 11 or Year 13 for children leaving secondary.
On the FSMB tab, select your Protected status from the FSM Status drop-down list.
On the Admissions tab, select the relevant transition round if applicable.
Click OK to return the results.
Click the FSM Status Batch button on the toolbar.
Select a non-protected FSM Status from the drop-down list.
Enter or select the Start Date.
Click Run Batch Update.
The selected children will be updated to the non-protected status and their eligibility can now be checked in future batch processes.
⚠️Important: Plan these updates carefully to coincide with the end of academic terms when children are actually transitioning between phases.