Free School Meal/ Universal Infant Free School Meals

Why should I apply?

For every child that is entitled to free school meals the school receives extra funding to enhance provision and improve progress and outcomes for children. So please apply even if you do not wish to take up your free school meal.

If your child is eligible, they will receive a healthy school meal at no cost to you.

Eligibility can also help with access to:

support with home-to-school transport
the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme

It also enables the school to receive additional funding:

£1,345 per pupil (primary)
£955 per pupil (secondary)

This funding is provided even if your child chooses not to take the meal and helps schools support pupils to achieve their best.

Changes to free school meal eligibility from September 2026

From September 2026, the government is expanding free school meal eligibility.

All children whose parent or carer receives Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals, regardless of household earnings.

We encourage all eligible families to apply, as this also helps schools receive additional funding to support pupils.

Transitional protections (until July 2026)

Transitional protections were introduced in 2018 to ensure that children who became eligible for free school meals continued to receive them, even if their family’s income later increased.

These protections remained in place until the end of the 2025/26 academic year (July 2026).

From September 2026, the new national eligibility rules will apply.

Who is eligible for free school meals?

Free school meals are available to children whose parents or carers receive one of the following benefits:

Universal Credit
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 guarantee element of Pension Credit
meet criteria set out in separate guidance for families with no recourse to public funds

What this means for families

If you receive Universal Credit, your child will be entitled to free school meals from September 2026.
If your child already receives free school meals, this will continue until the end of July 2026 under the current arrangements.
From September 2026, eligibility will be assessed under the new national criteria.
There are three different types of free school meals. These are based on different government schemes:

Targeted free school meals

Children may be entitled to Targeted FSM if their parent or carer receives certain qualifying benefits and meets specific income-related criteria.

Eligibility under this scheme is used to determine whether a school receives additional funding through the Pupil Premium, which supports children from lower-income families.

Expanded free school meals

Children will be entitled to Expanded FSM if their parent or carer receives Universal Credit, regardless of household income.

This expanded entitlement increases access to free meals; however, Pupil Premium funding will continue to be based on the targeted eligibility criteria.

Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal, regardless of family income. This is known as Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM).

Children may still qualify for Targeted FSM in addition to UIFSM. This is important as it may enable the school to receive additional funding.

Who is eligible for benefits based free school meals?

Your child might be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 per year / £616 per month, as assessed by earnings from up to 3 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 of no more than £16,190)
Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.

Please note - From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, eligibility is being expanded to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit regardless of household earnings. Free school meals are available to children in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

Universal Credit
support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

A child is only eligible to receive a free school meal where both:

a claim for this support has been made
their eligibility has been verified by the school where they are enrolled or by the local authority