Free School Meals
PLEASE CAN ALL PARENTS COMPLETE THE ABOVE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
We are writing to let you know about changes to free school meals (FSM) 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.
Going forward, there will be 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).
Expanded FSM: for households in receipt of universal credit earning above £7,400 (free meals only)
Families with no recourse to public funds may also be eligible for Targeted FSM subject to meeting separate criteria.
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 will end at the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
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
What you need to do
In order to keep our records up to date we would like all our parents to completed the online eligibility checker in advance of September so you will be eligible from the start of the new school year. If you have multiple children you will need to check for each child.