Changes to free school meals

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.

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.

Where a child currently receives free school meals and their application was submitted through Shropshire Council, their eligibility will be re-assessed during the summer term. Where the re-check identifies a pupil may no longer qualify for benefits-based free school meals from September, families will be notified by a letter through their child’s school before the end of the summer term.

From September 2026 onwards, all households must meet the eligibility criteria to be entitled to benefits-related free school meals.

From the start of the 2026/27 academic year, there will be two categories of benefits-based free school meals, known as ‘targeted FSM’ or ‘expanded FSM’:

Targeted FSM

  • Continues to be based on the existing threshold, 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

Only pupils eligible for targeted FSM will be counted towards the following:

  • FSM6 cohort (that is pupils who are, or have been, recorded as eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years). The FSM6 cohort is used for accountability, Pupil Premium funding and deprivation funding in the national funding formula (NFF)
  • To determine eligibility for home to school transport (HTST), and:
  • The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme

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.

For pupils who qualify under Targeted FSM or Expanded FSM criteria, eligibility for free meals will be kept under regular review through annual re-checks, ahead of the start of each academic year.

Applications open from 24 June 2026

Please note – applications approved under Expanded FSM, cannot start until 1 September 2026.