Eligibility Checking System

The Eligibility Checking System (ECS) is a tool offered to local authorities to assist them in identifying who is entitled to specified educational benefits. The system provides simple yes/no answers to enquiries as to whether a family is entitled. Although it was originally designed to check free school meal (FSM) entitlement, the system has recently been extended to enable local authorities to use the ECS to also check eligibility for the early learning for two-year-olds entitlement and Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP). The introduction of Universal Credit (UC) – which will replace most…