Skip to content ↓

Free School Meals

Did you know the government gives additional funding to schools for those children entitled to free school meals (pupil premium)? Schools use this money to obtain additional staff and resources that help improve the quality of education. 

At Green Lanes School we also provide additional financial support to families in receipt of benefit related Free School Meals. This includes free school milk, fully funded trips (day trips and residential), uniform voucher  for Smarty Schoolwear to the value of £60 per child per annum and fully funded after school extra curricular activities (school run clubs).  

* The school will be notified if you are eligible. Your child's FSM status will be valid from the date your application is approved. Any school dinner debts prior to this date will still need to be paid for. 

Check your eligibility

Checking your eligibility is quick and easy and can be done in two ways:-

A child may be eligible for free school meals (FSM) if their parents receive any of the following benefits:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit, provided the parents are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
  • Working Tax Credit run-on, which is paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax credit
  • Universal Credit – for those applying on or after 1 April 2018, their household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits they get). See the section below for protections in place for those affected by the introduction of this income threshold 

Children may also get FSM if they receive any of these benefits directly, instead of through a parent.

This is explained on the GOV.UK website. 

Contribution-based benefits

Contribution-based JSA or ESA are not eligibility criteria for FSM in their own right. 

However, claiming contribution-based benefits doesn't prevent someone from being eligible for FSM on the basis of receiving 1 of the other benefits listed above.

If someone receives even 1p of income-based JSA or income-related ESA, they're eligible for FSM. That means, for example, someone receiving equal amounts of income-based and contribution-based JSA or ESA is still eligible for FSM.

The DfE confirmed this for us.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

All pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in state-funded schools are entitled to universal infant free school meals.

Families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

Pupils in NRPF households are eligible for FSM subject to maximum income thresholds. The DfE has now permanently extended FSM to pupils from NRPF households.

This includes, but is not limited to, children of:

  • Zambrano and Chen carers (non-EEA nationals caring for a British citizen residing in the UK)
  • British National (Overseas) passport holders
  • Spousal visa, work visa, or student visa holders
  • Those with no immigration status
  • Families with a right to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights
  • Families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction
  • Certain failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Checking eligibility will be slightly different in these cases. You can't use the eligibility checking system (ECS) because the families can't receive Universal Credit or legacy benefits. DfE guidance on FSMs for families with no recourse to public funds includes examples of how you can confirm various qualifying statuses. It also explains how you can confirm income as part of the income threshold checks.

  1. free-school-meal-factsheet pdf
  2. FSM Registration Form for Parents docx