Free school meals ensure children receive a balanced meal each day and can help reduce household costs. They may also unlock additional support such as Holiday Activity Funding (HAF), help with school trips, and assistance with uniform costs.
FSM for all children
Eligible nursery aged children from the age of 3 can also access FSM on the days they attend at least a 2-hour session both before and after the lunchtime period. Not all private nursery settings offer this, so please enquire at the nursery your child attends.
Children in reception, year 1, and year 2 automatically get free lunches known as Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). Even though your child gets UIFSM, you should still apply, as this can secure more funding for the setting they attend and also allows your family to access the passported benefits.
All children from 3 to 18 years old may access free school meals if the household receives:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit (income based)
- help under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- children in families with no recourse to public funds
Changes from September 2026
- Transitional protection will end on 31 August 2026
- All families will be reassessed under new eligibility rules
- Schools will notify parents if eligibility changes
New eligibility
We'll regularly check the eligibility of all families who have registered on the Free School Meals portal.
Additional families who have not been eligible previously will find that they become eligible. Schools will automatically be notified of this via their live reports in their setting.
There will be 2 tiers of eligibility for FSM:
- targeted FSM
- expanded FSM
Targeted FSM
- For families on Universal Credit earning £7,400 or less per year
- Includes free meals and additional school funding (Pupil Premium)
Expanded FSM
- For all families on Universal Credit
- Includes free meals only (no additional funding)
If you're not sure if you have made an FSM application, or if you receive Universal Credit and your child is not getting free school meals, please apply using our online portal.
How to apply
Apply for free school meals
You'll get a quick result, and the school will also be told of the outcome.
You'll need:
- parent/carer National Insurance Number or Asylum Support Number
- parent/carer full name
- parent/carer date of birth
- child/ren full name
- child/ren date of birth
Help
To get help with free school meals, check with the setting your child attends or contact our FSM team: