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Free school meals

Eligibility

Parents or guardians of pupils who attend primary, secondary or special schools and receive one of the following qualifying benefits may be entitled to help with the cost of school meals:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance 
  • Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Help is also available to children who move into the sixth form of a local authority school, such as Cardinal Langley, Oulder Hill and St Cuthbert’s.

Children who attend the nursery unit of a local authority primary school or the nursery unit of a Children's Services Authority nursery, such as Queensway or Derby Street Nursery, are not entitled to help with the cost of school meals, unless the child attends nursery full time and has been placed in the nursery by Child Care Services.  If you receive an application for school meals for a child who is of nursery age, you must check with the school first to see if they have been placed there by Child Care Services. If the child has not, then there is no entitlement to help with school meals.

Application procedure

Parents can apply for free school meals by completing an application form available from:

When returning the form please provide proof of your income otherwise your claim will be delayed.

Free school meals are generally awarded from the date the application form is date stamped as being received. 

Proof of income

The parent must provide proof of income, either a photocopy of a benefit book, the DWP award letter, the full Child Tax Credit award letter or a photocopy of the NASS letter.

Backdating

Generally if there is a break of four to five weeks in a claim for free school meals they would normally be reinstated back to the date of cancellation providing the claimant was in receipt of a qualifying benefit for the whole of the period in question.

It is possible for free school meals to be backdated, especially if there are arrears involved, providing the claimant was in receipt of a qualifying benefit for the whole of the period in question. The parent must give good reasons, in writing, as to why they want their childs school meals backdating, and if the explanation given is reasonable, then the award will be backdated. 

Withdrawal of school meals

School meals can be withdrawn for a number of reasons including:

  • The claimant ceases to receive a qualifying benefit 
  • The child leaves school
  • The family move out of the borough
  • The child goes onto packed lunches (long term)
  • The child is absent from school for a long period of time

When entitlement to free school meals are withdrawn, notification letters are sent to the parent.  The school meals are then withdrawn seven days after the cancellation date. This is so the parents and the school receive some notice of meals ceasing, and it gives time for alternative meal arrangements to be made.

Changes in circumstances

During a period of entitlement there may be a change in the claimant’s/childs circumstances. Changing address or school, are the most common.

All changes of circumstance must be reported to the Revenues & Benefits Service by the claimant, but if the school is aware of a change which will affect entitlement, then we can accept details of the change from the school.