Holiday Voucher Scheme

Page Contents

Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget announcement in May, we have received notification that the Household Support Grant will continue through to March 2023. We have agreed a school holiday voucher scheme to cover the October half-term, Christmas holiday and February 2023 half term.

Letter for parents and carers

Read the letter to parents and carers (opens as a .pdf)

Frequently asked questions for parents and carers (opens as a .pdf)

Eligibility

We will therefore issue a £35 supermarket voucher per eligible child for the Christmas Holiday. This will be sent on 17 December to those families meeting the low income criteria for the following support:

  • Free school meals
  • Funded childcare for 2-year-olds
  • Early years pupil premium
  • Students in Sixth Form eligible for Free School Meals (young people aged 16-19)

If your child receives Universal Infant Free School Meals (in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) but you do not meet the low income criteria for free school meals, you will not be eligible for a supermarket voucher for the school holidays.

If you haven’t received a voucher and would like to apply, we need to check your eligibility. Please complete our online application form below. If you are eligible, we will allocate a voucher. The voucher scheme for the Christmas holiday period will close on the last day of the holiday and we will not be able to backdate any vouchers. We are aware of other Local Authorities providing similar schemes and we will not provide a voucher where another authority is funding a voucher. 

To check if your child may be eligible for free school meals, please visit our free school meals page or apply by completing our online application form below.

How to apply

Please apply by completing the online application form.

Apply for free school meals

How the vouchers work

Eligible parents/carers will receive a text or email inviting them to choose a supermarket for the voucher.

The text message will come from ‘SchoolMeals’.

The email will come from ‘vouchers@wonde.com’ (please check your junk folder).

If you haven’t received a voucher but feel you should have or if you have a question about your voucher, please email winter.support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk. Please include the name of your child(ren) and the early years setting or school they attend. We cannot locate vouchers without this information. We aim to respond to you within three working days.

Frequently asked questions

For the Christmas Holiday, our support is focused on providing supermarket vouchers for families eligible for income-based support. The criteria for access are available with the letter that accompanies this document.

If your child is eligible for Free School Meals, Early Years Pupil Premium, Funded 2-year-old support or is 16-19 and eligible for free school meals or the 16+ bursary, you will automatically receive a voucher. If you do not know if your child is eligible for a free school meal you can complete this form to check eligibility.

If you do not want/need your voucher, please do not activate it. Either delete or ignore the email/text you receive, or do not open the link and download the voucher. This way, we can reallocate your voucher to another family in need. Alternatively please email winter.support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk and the voucher will be removed.

You will receive a text or email to choose your supermarket choice for the voucher.

• Text message from 'SchoolMeals'

• Email from 'vouchers@wonde.com'

Once you have chosen your supermarket, you will receive your voucher by text or email. You can then click the link in the text or email and download your voucher code. You can then use this voucher in your chosen supermarket. You must choose your supermarket before you can receive your voucher. You can also access your voucher via the new EVouchers app.

If you’ve been sent an Evoucher by text message or email, this app will enable you to easily access your existing and new vouchers through your registered account. If you’re new to Evouchers.com, you’re also able to register for an account through the app. Any vouchers previously assigned to your email address or mobile number will appear in your account.

Most vouchers are received within 30 minutes after the retailer is selected. If the parent selects Morrisons or Asda then the following timings apply:

  • If selected before 1pm, the voucher will be received that evening.
  • If selected after 1pm, the voucher will be received the following working day.

There may be a number of reasons for this such as:

Most vouchers are received within 30 minutes after the retailer is selected. If you select Morrisons or Asda then thefollowing timings apply:

• If selected before 1 pm, the voucher will be received that evening.

• If selected after 1 pm, the voucher will be received the following working day.

Yes, you can. If your shopping comes to more than the voucher total, you will need to pay the remaining balance using another method (i.e. debit card).

We will issue each eligible child/young person with a supermarket voucher for £35 by the end of the day on Saturday 17 December 2022.

If you have not received your voucher by Sunday 18th December 2022, please contact winter.support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

Please include in any correspondence the name of your child and the name of the school or early years setting they attend.

You have until 27 January 2023 to select the supermarket and claim the voucher. If you don’t claim by this point the voucher will be removed and re-allocated. Once claimed, each supermarket has different expiry dates but all last over a year.

If you haven’t received contact by 18 December 2022 but feel you should have received a voucher, please contact winter.support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk. Please include the name of your child / children and the name of the school or early years setting that attend. We will confirm whether you have received a voucher and how to access it. It may take up to 3 days to get a reply.

Where can I use my voucher?
Retailer Can the voucher be used online? When does it expire?
Asda Yes 2 years
Morrisons No 1 year
Tesco No 5 years
Aldi No 5 years
Sainsbury's Yes 2 years
Iceland No 1 year
B&M No 1 year
Farmfoods No 2 years
M&S Yes 2 years from last transaction
Waitrose Yes 2 years

Yes, you can.

The restrictions for each supermarket are listed below:

• Asda: Cannot be used in Petrol stations or to purchase tobacco products, stamps, lottery or phone top-ups.

• Morrisons: Cannot be used for gift-card or lottery purchases.

• Aldi: Cannot be used for the purchasing of gift cards, lottery tickets, scratchcards (or related material), alcohol or anything through ALDI’s website.

• Tesco: Cannot be used in petrol stations.

• Sainsbury’s: Cannot be used in petrol stations, pharmacies, branded gift cards, scratch cards, LPG autogas, infant formula, tobacco and related products, BT phone cards, E top-up, savings stamps, postage stamps, National lottery products, online delivery charges, concession coffee shops and restaurants

• Iceland: Cannot be used for alcohol.

• Farmfoods: Cannot be used online.

You will receive a voucher for each child separately.

We recommend you first contact your school or setting if you can’t get your voucher. Alternatively, you can email winter.support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

You will receive £35 for the Christmas Holiday which will be sent on Saturday 17 December 2022.

£0 Balance queries

If the voucher is showing as a £0 balance, please contact the supermarket using the details below.

Gift-card not working

Check the gift-card has a balance. Often gift-cards do not work because the balance has already been spent. Please ensure the 'Gift-Card' option is selected at a self-checkout. You may also need to remind staff that they are gift-cards and not vouchers.

If you have issues with any of the vouchers please contact the supermarket as they will be able to resolve the issue.

Tesco

How to check the balance of a voucher

Balances can be checked by calling 03450 757 757

Other queries

For all other enquiries please call 0800 505555

Morrison's

How to check the balance of a voucher

When first accessing the voucher it shows the opening balance, you then need to press ‘check balance’ which show an updated balance.

Other queries

If you have any queries about the voucher card please call 0344 3815042 or email morrisonsgiftcardservice@bhnetwork.com

Sainsbury's

How to check the balance of a voucher

Balances can be checked by calling 0800 636262

Other queries

Contact Sainsbury’s on 0800 636262

Asda

Please use Asda's online balance checker.

Other queries

https://cards.asda.com/contact or Phone: 0800 952 0101

Disputing a spent voucher

School/parent will need to contact Asda directly on; 0800 952 0101 and select option 2. Please note: Asda will only respond to Wonde regarding any gift-card queries.

If you require more information about an Asda voucher, please email the gift-card number to support@wonde.com and we will forward this to Asda.

Aldi

You can check the balance of ALDI Digital Gift Card at the checkout in-store.

If you have any queries about the voucher please contact vouchers@aldi.co.uk. You will need to provide the full voucher code and inform them that the gift-card was purchased by Wonde.

Iceland

How to check the balance of a voucher

Please follow the instructions on the link below;

https://www.love2shop.co.uk/balance

Other Queries

https://www.love2shop.co.uk/customer-support

Farmfoods

How to check the balance of a voucher

You can check the balance of your voucher by going to any Farmfoods checkout. Alternatively, a voucher statement is printed at the bottom of your receipt after each transaction

Other Queries

Please contact them directly using their online contact form

M&S

Please use the M&S online balance checker.

Other Queries

Please contact them directly on 0333 014 8000

B&M

How to check the balance of a voucher

You can check out your balance at any checkout in store or by calling 0191 607 8281.

Other Queries

If you have any queries about the voucher please contact 0191 607 8281

Waitrose

How to check the balance of a voucher

Please follow the instructions on the link: Check Waitrose balance

If you have any queries about the voucher please contact 0330 123 0350

Further details about other support in your local area can be found at the following links:

• Peterborough City Council coronavirus information

• Household Support Fund - Peterborough City Council

Further support can also be found here:

• Citizens Advice - online free advice to help you find a way forward, whatever the problem.
• Making Money Count - offering everyday help with money, being online, finding work and
renting.