Contact

Postal address
Revenues and Benefits Service
PO Box 490
Rochdale OL16 9AJ

Tel: 0845 121 2970
Email: Revenues and Benefits

Opening times

Telephone lines
Monday-Friday 8am-8pm
Saturday 9am-1pm

Free school meals

Elegibility

Parents or guardians of pupils who are on a low income and who receive one of the following benefits listed below, may be entitled to help with the cost of school meals.

  • Income Support
  • Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
  • Child Tax Credit but Not Working Tax Credit
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

School meals are available to all children who attend primary, secondary and special schools, also those children who move into the sixth form of a local authority school, such as Cardinal Langley, Oulder Hill and St Cuthbert’s. Meals are available for children whose parents/guardians are in receipt of one of the above benefits.

  • For children that attend primary school, meals are available for children who start in reception through to Year 6, ages 4 to 11.
  • For children who attend secondary school, meals are available for children aged 11 to 16 – Year 7 to Year 11.  
  • For children who attend sixth form, meals are available for children aged 16 to 19.  
  • Students who attend sixth form college such as Hopwood Hall or Rochdale College, are not entitled to school meals.

Children who are attending 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 eligible to receive school meals, unless the child is attending 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 the child has been placed by Child Care Services. If the child has not, then there is no entitlement to school meals.

Application procedure

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

  • Schools
  • Council Information Offices
  • RBH offices
  • By phoning the Contact Centre

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

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

Proof of income

Proof of a qualifying income is provided by the parent, by either a photocopy of a benefit book or DWP award letter. A photocopy of the full Child Tax Credit notification letter or a photocopy of the NASS letter (support letter from the National Asylum Seekers Support Unit).

Backdating

Generally if there is a break of four to five weeks in a claim for free school meals between cancellation of meals due to non renewal and the parent reapplying, then meals would be automatically reinstated back to the date of cancellation.

It is possible for a free school meal award to be backdated, especially if there are arrears involved, providing the claimant is in receipt of a qualifying benefit for the whole of the period in question. The parent must write in and give sufficient reasons as to why they want their child’s school meals backdating, and if the explanation given is reasonable, then backdate the award. 

Withdrawal of school meals

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

  • The claimant ceases to receive Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance/CTC Nass support
  • 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

By withdrawing entitlement to meals a notification letter is sent to the parent.  In the cases when school meals are withdrawn, unlike the award of school meals which can be backdated, the withdrawal date is seven days after the date benefit staff have cancelled entitlement to school meals.  This is so that both the parent and the school receive some notice of meals ceasing, and it gives time for alternative meal arrangements to be made.

Renewals

Free school meals are awarded for a period of twelve months.

Six weeks before their entitlement is due to expire, the claimant receives a renewal form advising them to complete and return the application, with proof of income if they wish their child’s school meals to continue.

If they do not renew their claim, their benefit entitlement expires automatically.

If the claimant does reapply within a reasonable time, the claim will usually be backdated to the expiry date, providing the claimant fulfils the income criteria for that period.

Changes in circumstances

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

All changes of circumstance should 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.