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

Free school meal transitional protections

Transitional protections for free school meals are in effect until the end of the 2025/26 academic year. 

From September 2026 the Department for Education is introducing new benefit criteria which will mean that all children from households in receipt of universal credit will be entitled to receive a free school meal.

At the same time, the transitional protections that have been in place since 1 April 2018 are ending. If your child currently receives a free school meal because they've been protected under the transitional protection rules, but you no longer receive universal credit, their entitlement will end in August 2026. 

Since 1 April 2018, all existing free school meals claimants have continued to receive free school meals while universal credit is rolled out. This applied regardless of any change in household circumstances. Protections remain in place until the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

From September 2026, pupils must meet the eligibility criteria for free meals to continue receiving this provision. Eligibility for free meals will be kept under regular review through annual rechecks.

Who qualifies for universal infant free school meals?

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 'targeted' 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.