Free School Meals & Pupil Premium

Universal Free School Meals

Since September 2014 all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are automatically entitled to a free school meal.

Should you choose to take up this entitlement, your child will receive a nutritious meal each day provided by our caterers.  All meals are freshly prepared and cooked in our kitchen daily.

However, if you think you receive one of the qualifying benefits we recommend that you still apply . This will mean your child’s school does not miss out on important funding. It may also mean your child will continue to receive free meals after the end of Year 2.

Do I qualify for Pupil Premium (free school meals after Year 2)?

Eligibility

Families who receive the following are eligible for free school meals:

• income support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
• guarantee element of state pension credit
• Universal Credit (with an annual income of less than £7,400)
• Both income-based and contribution-based JSA/ESA if you receive the same amount for both. You should also qualify if you receive both, but the income-based amount is greater, but not if the contribution-based amount is greater.
• Families who are awarded Child Tax Credit and have an annual income assessed by HMRC to be no more than £16,190, providing there is no entitlement to Working Tax Credit (unless in respect of a 4-week ‘run-on’).

If you receive a qualifying benefit, free school meals are available for:

Pupils at any school maintained by the authority (including a sixth form attached to a maintained school)

Pupils attending maintained nurseries, if they are attending both before and after lunch. Free school meals are not available to children attending private nurseries.

Please note that the online checking system only confirms or denies your eligibility to claim free school meals and does not give us access to any other information.

If you are currently in receipt of either Universal Credit or the 4-week run on of Working Tax Credit the system will not automatically be able to determine your eligibility, therefore you will need to send proof that you are in receipt of these benefits to the Free School Meals office once you have completed and saved your application.

Apply Online 

If your application is successful, you will receive an email to confirm your child’s eligibility for free school meals. This will be in place until at least summer 2023, when the roll out of Universal Credit is due to be completed, irrespective of any changes to your financial circumstances. Their school will also be notified.

If your application is unsuccessful, the online system will continuously check your eligibility status and inform you and the school of any changes.