Overview
The DfE Eligibility Checking Engine (ECE) team successfully delivered a nearly two-year project to replace the outdated legacy service used for checking eligibility for free school meals and childcare support. The team achieved a fundamental transformation by renewing the service to make it easier for families and schools to understand eligibility and complete checks smoothly.
A key innovation is the new school portal; while currently undergoing policy and legal finalisation to allow schools to perform checks directly, the technical infrastructure is ready to grant schools unprecedented autonomy, enabling a more flexible model that meets the needs of schools, Multi Academy Trusts and Academies. This shift will ensure faster support, eliminate local authority service charges, and remove the “postcode lottery” of eligibility access through collaborative digital-policy alignment. Furthermore, the team demonstrated exceptional collaborative policy work, swiftly aligning digital implementation with critical policy decisions.
The problem
The Eligibility Checking Engine (ECE) project was initiated primarily because the existing legacy system, used by local authorities (LAs) to check children’s eligibility for free school meals and childcare support, was outdated and facing decommissioning requests from CDDO. While the initial driver was renewal, the team realised the broader opportunity to improve the user journey of free school meals eligibility checking, including wider participation. The project has been running for nearly two years and is currently in private beta. The fundamental purpose is to increase engagement and enhance uptake by making the service more accessible.
The core problem addressed was the reliance on outdated, non-future-proof technology known as the ‘Eligibility Checking System.’ The age of the legacy service meant it was failing, hitting roadblocks due to the increasing number of checks, and suffering from a lack of engagement due to the poor quality of the technology. It was time-consuming, requiring internal DfE teams to manage account setups that expired within 90 days, adding to the internal support team’s workload.
The solution
The chosen solution involved a complete renewal of the service to ensure it was fit for purpose, could handle an increased number of checks, and offered better engagement.
Key aspects of the solution included:
- Standardisation and Consistency: Moving the service to DfE Sign-in ensures management is handled internally, synchronises it with other services used by schools (like completing the census), and significantly reduces the workload for the internal support team.
- Empowerment: The development of a new school portal provides schools with the ability to autonomy to conduct eligibility checks themselves. This decentralised approach will give schools more flexibility, allowing support to be handled at the ground level, and ensuring schools and MATs do not incur costs.
Outcomes and impact
The project sets new standards for local public service delivery by building the infrastructure for schools and academies to eventually perform checks directly. The team is moving the service away from being solely held at the local authority level. This approach ensures consistency and flexibility in usage.
This decentralisation is considered a best practice in government and education because schools know the children best and are able to spot changes in circumstances. This will enable faster access to support, potentially reducing the time it takes for a child to receive a meal.
Despite being in private beta and awaiting final legal shifts for full school-level rollout, the project has already demonstrated significant impact:
- School empowerment: One local authority has already empowered over 500 schools within its area with the ability to perform these eligibility checks.
- Financial impact: There is an immediate cost saving for schools by eliminating the fees previously charged by LAs.
- Improved inclusivity and efficiency: The move to DfE Sign-in has improved inclusivity and accessibility within the service and reduced the workload for the DfE internal support team.
- Preventing a postcode lottery: Creating a path for schools and MATs to conduct checks in-house will ensure the service is accessible.
- Delivering immediate cost savings: Providing the mechanism to eliminate the fees charged by local authorities to schools and MATs for carrying out the checks.
- Promoting consistency: The team leveraged common patterns like DfE Sign-in and the standard design system, ensuring consistency and ease of use across the service.
