Applying for Free School Meals
Eligibility for Free School Meals
Your child may be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) if you receive one or more of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Guarantee element of Pension Credit
- Universal Credit, provided your household’s net earned income does not exceed £7,400 per year
- Child Tax Credit, with an annual income (as assessed by HMRC) of £16,190 or less, provided there is no entitlement to Working Tax Credit (except during a four-week run-on period)
Where a household receives both income-based and contribution-based JSA or ESA, eligibility applies where the income-based element is equal to or greater than the contribution-based element.
Checking Eligibility
The online Free School Meals checking system is used solely to confirm whether a family meets the eligibility criteria set out by the Department for Education. The system does not provide the school with any additional personal or financial information.
In some cases, the system may be unable to automatically verify eligibility, including where families are:
- In receipt of Universal Credit, or
- Within the four-week run-on period of Working Tax Credit
If this applies, you will be asked to submit evidence of your benefits to the Free School Meals team after completing and saving your application.
Confirmation and Ongoing Checks
Once eligibility has been confirmed and your application processed:
- You will receive an email confirming eligibility
- The school will be notified so that appropriate support and funding can be put in place
The eligibility checking system will continue to review eligibility on an ongoing basis and will notify both families and the school if there are any changes to eligibility status.