If your circumstances have changed since your last application, you may no longer be eligible. If you do not qualify, your child will stop receiving free school meals after 31 August 2026.
There will be 2 levels of eligibility: targeted free school meals and expanded free school meals.
Targeted free school meals for families who get:
Families in the Targeted group may be able to access further related benefits, for example, pupil premium and free holiday activities and food (HAF) programme.
Expanded free school meals are for families receiving Universal Credit with earnings over £7,400 per year. They cover free school meals only.
You will need:
You may also need to upload your benefit documents to prove your entitlement.
If one or more of your children already get free school meals and you have a younger child starting school, you will still need to apply for that child.
Most applications will receive an instant reply. You may be asked to upload your benefit documents to prove your entitlement, or you may need to contact the Free School Meals team if there are queries on your application.
If you are uploading a Universal Credit statement, please upload all pages of your latest statement, including the total deductions.
View an example of where to find your total take-home pay on a Universal Credit statement.
All children approved for free school meals after 1 June 2026 will be eligible until 31 August 2027.
Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:
Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.
Children already approved for free school meals will remain eligible until the end of this 2025/2026 school year.
To get free school meals from 1 September 2026, all families should apply from 1 June 2026.
For confidential help and advice with benefits or other issues:
All children automatically get free school meals if they are in:
If you get any of the qualifying benefits, please still apply for free school meals when you enrol your child in school. This will ensure you don't miss out on additional support.
Your child's school can also get extra funding if you are approved. We call this pupil premium.
If your child is in sixth form at a school, you can use our system to apply.
If your child is in further education, please contact their college directly to find out how to apply for free meals for young people aged 16 years and older.
Your child may also get support if you qualify for Targeted free school meals and if your child is Educated Other Than At School (EOTAS).
If you think you may be eligible, please speak with your child's SEND lead. This doesn’t apply if your child is Electively Home Educated (EHE).
If you are unable to access benefits due to your immigration status, you may be eligible for free school meals. This is known as No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
Find out more about providing free school meals to families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). If you think you are eligible, you can get a form from the Free School Meals team.
The pupil premium grant is government funding paid to schools. This happens when a pupil is approved for Targeted free school meals. Schools decide the best way to spend this funding. They will look at how to improve educational outcomes for pupils.
If you do not want free school meals for your child but receive one of the qualifying benefits, you can still apply for free school meals. You do not have to order the meals if you don't want to. This will ensure that your child's school will get the funding to support your child.
If your child is eligible for benefit related free school meals, they can also join our free holiday activities. The activities run during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. They will also get a free midday meal whilst at the club.
