Healthy school food can help pupils build healthy habits for life and improve their readiness to learn. If you’re receiving a qualifying benefit, your child can get a free school meal every day that they are at school, studying in further education, or at a sixth form college.
Apply for free school meals
To apply for free school meals, please call us on 0300 300 8306.
Please have the following information ready:
- National Insurance numbers and dates of birth for you and your partner
- dates of birth for your children
- your NASS number if you receive support from the National Asylum Support Service
Qualifying benefits for free school meals
The qualifying benefits for free school meals are:
- Universal Credit (if your annual net earned income is no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (if you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual gross income is no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
If you’re not getting a qualifying benefit, your child can still get a free school meal whilst they’re in reception, year 1 and year 2. You don’t need to apply for these.
Universal free school meals and the pupil premium
Applying for free school meals will also raise extra money for your child’s school, to fund valuable support like additional teaching staff or after-school activities. This ‘pupil premium’ is available from the government for every child who is eligible for free school meals based on a qualifying benefit, but it is only paid if you actually apply for free school meals for your child.
If your child is in reception, year 1 or year 2, please apply for free school meals if you are getting a qualifying benefit. Your child’s school won’t receive pupil premium funding unless you apply.
Students in further education and sixth form
If your child is aged 16 to 18 and attends a further education or sixth form college, please contact the college for information about free school meals. If your child attends a school sixth form, please contact us to apply.
When do free school meals start?
In most cases we will be able to confirm whether your child is entitled to free school meals straight away. As soon as we confirm that you qualify, we will inform your child’s school that their free school meals can start from the date you apply.
Your child can then get a free school meal every day from the standard menu at the school’s canteen or cafeteria. You only need to apply once, and your child’s free school meals will usually continue as long as they remain at the same school. We will contact you if there is any change to your entitlement.
Changes to free school meals from April 2025
From April 2018, the government introduced “transitional protection” for free school meals. This meant that if you no longer met the income criteria for free school meals, then your child could continue to receive them until the rollout of Universal Credit had completed. The government has now announced that transitional protection has ended on 31 March 2025. Any eligible claims starting from 1 April 2025 will not be protected when your family income no longer meets the qualifying criteria for free school meals.
The new rules mean that we will be reviewing your eligibility to free school meals on a regular basis and that you should inform us of income changes.
If you apply for free school meals after 1 April 2025
Any child confirmed as eligible for free school meals after 1 April 2025 will be subject to ongoing reviews to check their continued eligibility. The first of these reviews will be done at the end of the summer term. The frequency of reviews may change – if so, we will communicate any changes via your school and our website. It is also your responsibility as parent or guardian to let us know if your circumstances change and you think you may no longer qualify for free school meals.
If your child was receiving free school meals before 1 April 2025
Children who have been receiving free school meals before 1 April 2025 may continue to do so until the end of their current school phase (primary or secondary), even if your income changes. A review of all children leaving year 6 and moving to year 7 will be done before the start of the Autumn term each year. Once in year 7, even if your family remains eligible this child is no longer protected from future changes to your income.
How we will tell you about changes to your free school meals
We will write to you if we stop your child’s free school meals, and we will inform the school directly.
Changes you need to tell us about
You need to tell us about any changes in your circumstances which might affect your child’s entitlement to free school meals. Some examples of changes you need to report are:
- you no longer wish to receive free school meals
- your income no longer meets the qualifying criteria
- a new partner joins your household
- you move house
- your child changes their name
- you change your name
- another child in your family starts school
- your child goes into care
- your child changes schools
- your child moves between parents and/or guardians
Contact us
If you wish to report any changes or have any queries, please call 0300 300 8306 or email revsandbensfsm@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.