Is your child entitled to free school meals?

As you know, all children who are in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 in a state-funded school are offered a free healthy school lunch. These meals will be freshly prepared in our school kitchen on every school day.

Did you know that children in other school years are also offered a free school lunch if their parent is receiving certain benefits?

If your child is eligible for this there is no requirement for him/her to have the school meal every day, they can just pick the days that they like and bring packed lunch on the others. Registering could raise money for your child’s school.

Whatever year group your child is in, registering for free meals not only means that your child is provided with a meal but also could raise an extra £1,300 for your child’s school, to fund valuable support like extra tuition, additional teaching staff, after school activities and help with payment for trips etc.

This additional money, called ‘Pupil Premium’, is available from central government for every child whose parent is receiving one of the welfare benefits listed below. It is therefore important to sign up for free school meals / Pupil Premium, even if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, or if your child doesn’t always want to have a school lunch, so that your child’s school receives as much funding as possible.

Your child will get free school meals if you receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• Income based Job Seeker’s Allowance
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit but no element of Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenues & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
• If you are supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment finishes or after you start to work less hours per week
• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (£616.67 per month), as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods).

To check if your child is eligible, apply online here for an immediate response or call 01473 260989.