Hi Glynis!
The Dining Plan points aren't a direct conversion to money (pounds or dollars). Instead, you select the plan you are interested in and receive your credits based on the number of nights you are staying at your Walt Disney World resort.
For example, if you chose the Basic Dining Plan, you will receive 1 snack credit, 1 Quick Service meal credit, and 1 Table Service meal credit per person per day. You are awarded all of the points when you check in at your resort. From there, they can be used in any manner. Most Table Service restaurants only require 1 point per meal, but Signature Restaurants may require 2 meal credits per person per day. This means that if you'd like to, you can skip a sit down meal one day, and then have a Signature Dining experience the next with your credits. However you'd like to mix and match them is fine.
There are a number of
Disney Dining Plans, like Quick Service Plan or a Deluxe plan. The choice is yours. Pick what works best for your family!
I hope this helps explain how it works a bit better. Please be sure to come back to the Moms Panel if you have more planning questions (like WHERE to use all those plan credits!).