Free School Meals Information
Important FSM information
Free school meals are available for children in primary and secondary schools if their parents or guardians receive certain benefits.
Students on FSM will automatically have their lunch balance added each day for the set amount of £2.90. This is only spendable at Lunch, not break.
Parents can still add extra money through ParentPay for snacks and breaktime if they wish, whether their child receives free school meals or not.
Free School Meals don’t automatically continue from Primary School, so please check, based on your current situation.
Free school meals changes from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year
What is changing?
Expanded entitlement for families on Universal Credit
From the start of academic year 2026 to 2027, all children in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals, regardless of earnings.
There are two types of eligibility
Targeted FSM: for households in receipt of universal credit earning £7,400 or less (includes free meals and additional support such as pupil premium).
Other educational entitlements such as the Holiday Activities and Food program (HAF) and the ‘extended rights’ element of school travel assistance, will also continue to be based on targeted FSM.Expanded FSM: for households in receipt of universal credit earning above £7,400 (free meals only)
End of transitional protections
Since 2018, some children have continued to receive free school meals, even if their family circumstances changed during the rollout of Universal Credit. This is referred to as transitional protections.
Now that entitlement is being expanded to all families on Universal Credit, these protections have ended in July 2026.
This means:
Some children may no longer be eligible from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year if their family does not receive Universal Credit or another qualifying benefit
Eligibility will now be based on current benefit status, not the past
What you need to do
If your child currently receives free school meals:
You should have already been contacted by the school to reapply for free school meals status, if not please contact the school office.
If you are unsure, again please contact the school office.
If your child does not currently receive free school meals
You may now be eligible under the expanded criteria
You will need to apply through your school
Click below to download the application form to fill out and return it to the school office once complete (Email, Post or in person).