Free School Meals
Your child will be eligible for free school meals if you (or your partner) are in receipt of any of the following:
- Universal Credit and net earnings are no more than £7,400 per year (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 guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income, as assessed by HMRC, of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit 'run on' - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
In addition, the following pupils will be protected against losing their free school meals:
- 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 regardless of any change in household circumstances, including if their earnings rise above the threshold during that time. Protections will remain in place until the end of the 2025/26 school year.
- From the start of the 2026/27 school year, the Department for Education will extend entitlement to free school meals to include all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit. It is our intention to end transitional protections alongside this change in threshold, with eligibility for all pupils reverting to whether they meet the eligibility criteria, regardless of whether they were previously protected. We will issue further guidance ahead of September 2026.
Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also receive free school meals.
Once eligible, your child will continue to receive free school meals in primary or secondary school until they have finished their current phase of education i.e. primary (Year 6) or secondary (Year 11).