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School meals can be withdrawn for a number of reasons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.