What your child is entitled to
Your child will receive a free two course meal each school day. The value of this meal is £2.20 for a child at secondary school and £2.00 for a child at primary school (this is the rate for 2011-12).
Apply for free school meals
Complete the Free school meals online application
Who can apply?
All children who are at school; and were under 19 at the start of the academic year (5 September 2011) and are claiming or have parents who are claiming:
- Income Support or
- Income Based Job Seekers Allowance or
- Income-related employment and support allowance (this benefit will be introduced from 27 October 2008) or
- Support under part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 or
- Child Tax Credit but who are not entitled to working tax credit and whose annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) does not exceed £16,190 or
- Guarantee element of state pension credit
Note: If you have any form of working tax credit being paid into the household you would not be entitled to free school meals except under the following circumstances; Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment ceases, or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are entitled to free school meals.
How long does the entitlement last?
We will write to you to confirm entitlement has started and will continue to check eligibility via our secure Electronic Checking System.
Processing your claim
We will process your claim within three working days of receiving a valid application form and advise you and your child's school of his/her entitlement to free school meals.
Please note If your child is attending one of the following schools, you will need to apply direct to the school, as they administer their own free school meals: