05 Nov Please check if you are eligible for Free School Meals
We encourage all parents to find out if they are entitled to free school meals. In doing so, you may also discover that you are entitled to other benefits too. Free School Meal entitlement also means that the school has access to additional government funding, such as pupil premium funding, which allows the school to invest even more in your child’s education.
To qualify, your child must be in school and you must be receiving one of the following benefits:
- Income support
- Income based Job Seekers Allowance
- Income related Employment and Support Allowance
- NASS support
- Guarantee element of State Pension
- Child Tax Credit, provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
- Working Tax Credit for the four weeks after employment ends
- Universal Credit, provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
Asylum seekers
Asylum seekers can apply for free school meals if they have a NASS number.
Children with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)
Eligibility for free school meals has temporarily been extended to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF).
These groups are:
- children of Zambrano carers
- children of families with no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
- children of families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are also subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction