School meals
Find out where hot lunches are on offer and if your child is eligible for free school dinners.
If you are on a qualifying benefit and do not already receive Free School Meals (FSM), we urge you to make a formal application as soon as possible. This can benefit your child's school as they can claim extra funding (Pupil Premium).
Who is eligible for free school meals?
Free school meals are available to children whose parents or carers are in receipt of any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child tax credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working tax credit run-on - paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your additional net earned household income must be less then £7,400 a year approximately £616 per month (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
We are not allowed to recognise any other benefit other than those mentioned above.
My child receives Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). Can they still be eligible for free school meals?
All children in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 can receive school meals at no cost to you, this is the universal infant free school meal entitlement.
Any child who attends school for at least one full day a week and whose parents match the eligibility criteria, can receive benefits-related free school meals.
Are nursery pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals?
Where a child attends a maintained nursery (including academies), for at least one full day a week (before and after the lunch break) and their parents are in receipt of a qualifying benefit then the child is eligible for benefits-related free school meals. If your child is at a maintained nursery school or class, you can apply to claim free school meals provided they attend for a full day, and you are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits
When should I apply?
You should apply to your school when you first start to receive benefit as claims are not backdated. This will be reviewed annually.
You should notify your child’s school immediately if any changes occur to your benefits.
How do I apply?
Where your child is enrolled at a school, the responsibility for determining entitlement is with them.
You should ask your child's school for an application form that you can complete and return to the school for an assessment. They may ask you to provide evidence.
Where your child is not on the roll of a school, or the school or setting they attend is not able to provide a meal, you should contact us for further information.
Why should I apply?
When a claim has been made on your child’s behalf and their eligibility, or protected status, has been verified they will be provided with a healthy and nutritious meal in school at no cost to you.
Children who are entitled to free school meals may also benefit from
- additional support such as help with home-to-school transport
- access to the Holidays and Activities Food Programme (HAF)
In addition, the school can claim the Pupil Premium funding from the Department of Education
- £1,345 per child for those attending a primary school
- £955 per child for those attending a secondary school
Government funding is provided even if your child does not want the meal and is used to help children from lower income families achieve their very best at school.
Transitional Protections
Transitional Protection (TP) for free school meals was introduced in 2018 to help families avoid losing their entitlement while Universal Credit was being rolled out. This ensured they continued receiving free school meals even if their household income increased above the threshold. This was originally set until March 2022 and was subsequently extended to March 2025, when Universal Credit rollout is expected to be completed.
How it works?
A child who was eligible on 1 April 2018 or has become eligible under the benefits related earnings criteria since then, will continue to receive free school meals even if their household income exceeds the eligibility threshold up until the end of the 2025/26 academic year.
Transitional Protections ending
National FSM Transitional Protections will remain in place until the end of the 2025/26 academic year. This means that any child who became eligible for FSM on or after 1 April 2018 will continue to receive free meals until the end of July 2026, even if family circumstances have changed.
From September 2026, Transitional Protections will end nationally and new eligibility criteria will apply.
What is changing from September 2026
From the start of the 2026/27 school year, all children from households receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for FSM, regardless of earnings.
However, pupils who become newly eligible under this expanded Universal Credit criterion will not attract Pupil Premium funding. Pupil Premium will continue to be based on the previous income‑related criteria.
Requests and rechecks for September
As the new criteria apply to the next academic year, we are advising that any new FSM applications or rechecks for September onwards should be submitted towards the end of the summer term.
These requests will be processed over the summer once national guidance has been issued.
For families with no recourse to public funds
Refer the GOV UK guidance for Providing free school meals to families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) .