Free School Meals

Am I eligible?

If you have children under 19 and in full-time education, you may be able to get free school meals for them.

Universal Credit is a benefit for people of working age on a low income, which is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It’s a single monthly payment which will gradually replace the following benefits with a few exceptions:

▪ Income support

▪ Income related job seeker’s allowance

▪ Income related employment support allowance

▪Housing benefit

▪Working tax credit/Child tax credit

Free school meals eligibility checking

New claimants earning under the threshold and receiving Universal Credit, will be eligible for free school meals. New claimants earning above the threshold after April 2018, will not be eligible for free school meals.

Threshold amount

Annual net earned income threshold of £7,400 which equate to total household income after benefits of between £18,000 – £24,000.

Please see the following link for further information https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit

In April 2018, the criteria used to determine which pupils were eligible for Free School Meals was updated to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit and the phasing out of other income-based benefits

Any pupil who gained eligibility for free school meals after 1 April 2018 continued to receive free school meals during the Universal Credit rollout period.  This applied even if they no longer met the eligibility criteria at any point during the rollout period.

The rollout period is currently scheduled to end in March 2025. Your child will keep their free school meal entitlement until the end of their current phase of education, i.e. primary or secondary.  

Pupils moving from primary to secondary will need to make a new application for Free School Meals (current Year 6 pupils).

From 1st April 2025 new free school meal entitlements will be regularly checked to ensure that they meet the Free School Meal criteria.

If the criteria is not met, your child will lose their free school meal entitlement and meals will need to be paid for.

Please do not hesitate to contact student.finance@turnerschools.com if you have any questions.

Please CLICK HERE to apply online for Free School Meals form.