Are you eligible for free school meals?

Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

• Universal credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
• 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 guarantee element of pension credit
• Child tax credit (provided you’re 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

In addition, the following pupils will be protected against losing their free school meals as follows:

• Since 1 April 2018, all existing free school meals claimants have continued to receive free school meals whilst universal credit is rolled out. This applies even if their earnings rise above the new threshold during that time
• In addition, any pupil gaining eligibility for free school meals after 1 April 2018 (who qualified under the benefits/low-earnings criteria) will be protected against losing free school meals until March 2025
• After March 2025, any existing claimants that no longer meet the eligibility criteria at that point (because they are earning above the threshold or are no longer a recipient of universal credit) will continue to receive free school meals until the end of their current phase of education (ie primary or secondary)

All children in key stage 1 (reception class, year 1 and year 2) are automatically entitled to have a free school meal through universal infant free school meals (UIFSM). You don't have to apply for universal infant free school meals, but in order for your child's school to recognise who is eligible for universal meals and who qualifies for government free school meals for funding purposes, we encourage all parents who meet the eligibility criteria for government free school meals to apply.

The government will continue to provide schools with additional funding to support or enhance the learning of pupils who are currently or have been entitled to free school meals within the last six years. It's essential that parents/carers apply for free school meals even if the pupil doesn't wish to receive a free school meal.