What are Free School Meals, and who is eligible?

We talk a lot about Free School Meals, so we wanted to take some time to explain what they are, how they help, and how to know if you can get them. 

What are Free School Meals? 

All children are able to access school meals. However, for children in England eligible for Free School Meals, those meals are funded by the Government, via their school. The choices available for school lunch is the same, and no differentiation is made for those pupils. The only difference is only in who funds the meal. 

School meals are a vital part of childhood health; ensuring that pupils are able to access healthy, balanced hot food every day. Those leading school food standards state that “good food provision in schools has been shown to lead not only to healthier children, but to improved attainment.”. School meals are shown to be nutritionally better for pupils than packed lunches (with only 1% of packed lunches meeting the nutritional standards that currently apply to school food); and have a positive impact on academic performance and behaviour. 

Therefore, access to free provision ensures that pupils are well supported regardless of income, and provided the best start in their school life. 

Who is eligible?

Currently, your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

• Income Support

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit

• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)

• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.

Your child may also get free school meals if you get any of these benefits and your child is both:

• younger than the compulsory age for starting school

• in full-time education

If your child is eligible for free school meals, they will remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they are in on 31 March 2022.

Are they the same as Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)?

UIFSM is a scheme that came in in 2014 that extended the eligibility of Free School Meals to all those in Year R, Year 1 and Year 2 - so, in Infants. This was a key campaign policy in order to help ensure that all those starting their primary education were able to access the benefits of a school lunch. Whilst again, there is no difference in the type of meal offered - it is important that if your children is in Infants, but you are eligible for Free School Meals as above, that you still apply. This means that your school can access more funding to support your child's education, and is especially important during Covid-19, as schools need to ensure that meals are still offered to children when during school or bubble closures. 

How do I get Free School Meals?

To access Free School Meals, you need to apply on the Council website. For Southampton, this is here: If you live outside of the Southampton City Council border, you can find your Local Authority details here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

Applying enables your school to access funding for your child - known as Pupil Premium - to fund school meals on your behalf, and can ensure that additional support is offered as and when needed. 

What happened with Free School Meals during Covid-19?

There was a lot of press coverage about Free School Meals during lockdown; thanks to charity campaigns and the profile of Marcus Rashford. There was concern when schools initially shut that those usually eligible for Free School Meals would be disadvantaged. Initially schools (and us as school meal providers) supplied either daily packed lunches or weekly grocery boxes for families, as term time funding was still available. Eventually, the Government launched the Edenred voucher system, and despite initial issues, schools had the option to provide families with supermarket vouchers to cover the costs of lunch whilst their children were not in school. Some schools, however, opted to continue to provide grocery boxes - which we provided for our schools. 

However, during the school holidays, funding is paused. This is an issue we (and others) have raised for some time and and we support affected families through our Lunch Crowd projects. In the times of a pandemic, and school partial-closures - this distinction was even less logical when supporting vulnerable children. Therefore, eventually, the Government extended the use of the Edenred vouchers over the summer holidays. As it stands, this is the last extension. We are working hard to continue to support families, via Lunch Crowd - you can support us to do this, here.

The Government also, since April, extended the FSM scheme and vouchers, to those families with no recourse to public funds, which means that they wouldn't ordinarily be able to access some benefits such as Free School Meals. This is a welcome change in policy and one we hope continues. 

What is the future for Free School Meals and Universal Infant Free School Meals?

As advocates for access to good food for all, we are closely watching the Governments conversations on the future of both the Free School Meals and Universal Infant Free School Meals schemes. It is a key topic in party manifestos and campaigns - and we will keep watching, and working hard to advocate for accessible good food for all. Sustain is currently campaigning for the extension of Free School Meals to all primary pupils. You can read more about their campaign points, here.