Apply for free school meals

What you need to apply

To complete the online application you'll be asked to create an account with us (or sign in if you've already set this up). You'll then be able to complete the form, and as part of this you'll need to enter your national insurance (NI) number, or, if you're an asylum seeker, your National Asylum Seeker Service (NASS) number.

The qualifying benefits for free school meals are:

Targeted FSM

• Covering pupils who are in households in receipt of universal credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Households may also be entitled to a meal if they:

• Are in receipt of income-related employment and support allowance
• Receive the guaranteed element of pension credit
• Meet criteria set out in separate guidance for families with no recourse to public funds. If you'd like to submit an application under NRPF criteria, please email FSM@shropshire.gov.uk for more information. The online application form cannot be used.

Expanded FSM

A new category covering meals only, for pupils who don't qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving universal credit.

Please note, the following schools have a different process in place for their free school meals applications. If your child attends one of these schools, please contact the school directly for more information on their application process: Barrow 1618 CE Free School, Mereside CE Primary Academy, Sir John Talbot’s School and The Marches School.

Important note

Only families who haven't previously been eligible for benefits-based free school meals, but are now likely to be eligible under the new criteria, need to submit an application. If your child was in receipt of benefits-based free school meals during the last academic year (where their application had been submitted through Shropshire Council) their eligibility has been re-assessed through our re-checking process. Therefore you don't need to re-apply unless you've received a ‘not eligible’ result through your child’s school and believe that you should now be eligible.

Alternatively, you can call 0345 6789008.

What happens next?

• Your eligibility for government (benefits-based) free school meals will be checked online
• We'll email you with details of the result. The school that your child/ren attend will have the ability to view the result of your application
  
• Entitlement to free school meals can't be backdated
• If free schools meals entitlement is awarded, please notify us of any changes to your surname, email or home address