Free School Meals and Further Funding Information

If you are claiming certain benefits you could save money by claiming free school meals for your child.


Children whose parents or carers receive the following support payments are entitled to receive free school meals in schools maintained by the council. The term 'parent' includes someone living in the household as the partner of a child's biological parent.

  • Universal Credit if your annualised net earnings are £7400 or less*

  • Income Support

  • Income based Job Seekers Allowance

  • Income related Employment and Support Allowance

  • Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

  • Child Tax Credit where total annual income (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Custom service) is less than £16,190 a year

  • Working Tax Credit 'run-on' - this is the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit (usually when their employment ceases or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week). Any other type of Working Tax Credit will not make you entitled to free school meals.

Pupils who receive Income Support or Income based Job Seekers Allowance in their own right are also eligible to receive free school meals.

*If you are working and you also get Universal Credit, and want to claim free school meals for your child(ren), you may not know whether your earnings are more than £7,400 a year. When you make your claim for free school meals, your local authority will check your eligibility using the eligibility checking system. In most cases, the eligibility checking system will work out whether your earnings are below £7,400 a year and if you are eligible to claim free school meals for your child(ren).

The process works by looking at a claimant's earnings for up to three assessment periods (AP) (starting with the most recent and working back). This means irregular earnings can be taken into consideration.

In other cases, the local authority will need to ask you to provide proof of earnings and will work out if your earnings are more than £7,400 a year or £616.77 per month (for example £7,400 divided by 12). If your earnings are too high, you will not be able to claim free school meals for your child(ren) (although you can apply again if your earnings should drop).