Free school meals and extra support for your child

You could save up to £400 a year if your child gets free school meals and it will mean they get a healthy school lunch every day. All children in reception, year one and year two are also entitled to free school meals.

Who can get free school meals

Your child can get free school meals if your combined annual household income is below £16,190 (as assessed by HMRC) and you get one of the following benefits:

• income-based: income support or jobseeker’s allowance (not eligible if on contribution based jobseeker’s allowance)
• income-related: employment support allowance (not eligible if on contribution based employment support allowance)
• universal credit
• income support
• the guaranteed element of state pension credit
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• child tax credit only. 

No recourse to public funds (NRPF) parents

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) are eligible for free school meals.

Read more about free school meals for NRPF groups and find out if you are eligible.

If you're not on benefits

If your income is below £16,190 and you are not on any benefits your family will not be eligible.

If one parent earns above £16,190

If one partner or spouse in the household gets benefits and the other gets an annual income above £16,190, as assessed by HMRC, your family will not be eligible for free school meals.

If you get working tax credits

If you get working tax credit regardless of your annual household income your family will not be eligible for free school meals.

Changes to free school meals eligibility from 1 April 2018

Universal credit is being introduced over the next few years and will replace existing benefits, such as housing benefit and JSA. We expect the rollout to be completed by March 2022. This may affect your school meals eligibility.

Applying for free school meals from 1 April 2018

If you are on universal credit, you can only apply for free school meals for children in year three and above if you earn £7,400 per year or less.

If your child already gets free school meals

If you are moved onto universal credit and your child already gets free school meals, they can still get free school meals, even if you earn more than £7,400, until the end of the rollout period in March 2022.

If your child is in reception or years one and two

Children in reception and years one and two are not affected by the changes.

If you aren’t on universal credit yet

If you haven’t been moved onto universal credit yet, you can still apply for free school meals and your application will be based on the old eligibility criteria above.

How to apply for free school meals

You can apply online for free school meals.

You do not need to reapply each year but if your child changes school, you will need to tell us.

Application for NRPF parents

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) are eligible for free school meals.

Read more about free school meals for NRPF groups and find out if you are eligible.

To apply, first download the application form below and fill it out.

Then, use the link below to submit your application using the online evidence form.

If your child attends one of the following academies

If your child attends Turnham Academy, Hatchem Temple Grove, St Georges Academy or Tidemill Academy you have to contact the school directly.

Submitting evidence

If we ask you to supply evidence in support of your application please do so using the link below.

What other support your child will get

Free school meals are part of something called ‘pupil premium’. As well as providing free school meals, pupil premium provides extra funding of up to £1,350 to your child's school. The school can then use this funding to support your child’s education through extra tuition, teaching staff or after-school activities.

If your child attends one of the following academies.

If your child attends Turnham Academy, St Georges Academy or Tidemill Academy you will have to contact the school directly.

Question

Use the link below to ask us a question about free school meals or your application.