Are you aware that claiming Free School Meals not only provides your child/children with a meal allowance each day of £2.70 but also brings in valuable additional funding to the school?

For each child who is eligible for a Free School Meal and applies to the school to take this allowance, there is additional funding of £935 allocated to the school in the form of Pupil Premium. With budgets being ever reduced, it is really important that we attract as much funding as possible into the school to ensure that we are able to maintain a sufficient level of budget.

Your child is entitled to Free School Meals if you are in receipt of one of the following:

Changes to Free School Meals Eligibility

Since April 2018, transitional protections have allowed pupils who became eligible for Free School Meals to continue receiving them, even if their household circumstances changed.

These protections are due to end at the conclusion of the 2025/26 school year. From September 2026, all families will need to meet the current eligibility criteria to continue receiving Free School Meals.

Please ensure that you submit an application before 1 September 2026.

If a new application is not submitted and approved where required, your child may not receive Free School Meals from the start of term on Monday 7 September 2026.

Who Can Apply?

Your child may be eligible for Free School Meals if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual gross income is no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Universal Credit, where household income is less than £7,400 per year after tax (excluding benefits received)

Children who receive these benefits directly, rather than through a parent or guardian, may also be eligible.  The eligibility rules apply equally to birth parents, carers and foster parents. Where a child is in care, the application should be completed using the details of the child’s current carer.

Families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) may still be eligible in certain circumstances. If this applies to you, please contact the school for advice or refer to the Government guidance for families with NRPF.

Apply Online Using the LGfL Free School Meals Checker

Our school will be using the LGfL Free School Meals Checker for all FSM eligibility checks going forward. Parents and carers can check eligibility and apply online using the following link: https://fsm.lgfl.net/app

The LGfL system will:

• Check your eligibility instantly.
• Provide confirmation on screen and by email.
• Notify the school automatically if you are eligible as the school is connected to the LGfL checking service.

If you believe you are eligible and have not had confirmation, please contact us so that we can ensure the process has been completed, the school enquiries email address will be monitored over the summer holiday period to facilitate this.

The LGfL Privacy Policy can be viewed here:https://fsm.lgfl.net/privacy

We strongly encourage all families to check their eligibility, even if they are unsure whether they qualify. A successful application could provide valuable support for your child and family, as well as additional funding for the school.