Overview - Free school meals
Parents claiming some benefits can claim free school meals for any of their children who are registered at a Staffordshire school and who would normally be at school at lunch time. School meals are a good way to ensure that your child eats well at lunchtime and you can save yourself time and money.
Even if you don't want your children to have the meals, claiming them helps their school. The more eligible parents who claim meals, the more funding the school receives.
Free school meals for reception, year 1 and 2 children
From September 2014, if you have an infant age child (those in reception, year 1 or year 2) they can receive free school meals even if you don't meet the entitlement criteria and without completing an application for them. For more information contact your school.
Pupil Premium
For every pupil registered with us as eligible under the entitlement criteria, the school will receive extra funding. This is called the pupil premium. It is used to help raise achievement levels.
Each school decides how to spend the funding. They must publish details of what they have spent it on and the impact it has had.
So that schools (and pupils) can continue to benefit from this extra funding it is important that parents who do meet the entitlement criteria continue to register their claim with us.
Data protection and fair processing
Any personal data collected through your application for free school meals is handled securely and in accordance with Data Protection Legislation.
We collect personal data including your child’s name, address, date of birth, name of current and previous school, parent or guardian name, address and date of birth, national insurance number, asylum seeker number and details provided of benefits being claimed from your free school meals application.
We will use the information to process your application for free school meals for your child(ren).
Your application for free school meals will be kept for 6 years after processing and will then be destroyed securely.
We will share your data with schools and other agencies in order for them to carry out their statutory duties and to provide free school meals. In order to check your entitlement the parent/guardian information (name, date of birth, national insurance number of asylum seeker number) will be shared with the Eligibility Checking System, a service from the Department for Education which in turn shares information with the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Access to the Eligibility Checking System is limited to local authorities.
We always try to ensure that information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. To help us do this please let us know if you or your child’s details change.
If you would like further advice on how the information provided is used or have a concern please contact the Free School Meals Service in the first instance.
Further information on how we utilise your personal data is available on our privacy notice and your data pages.
Frequently asked questions
- Answer:
The general low income entitlement criteria is -
- Income Support
- Income Based Job Seekers Allowance. Please note the ‘new style’ job seekers allowance is not a qualifying benefit, as this is based upon payment of National Insurance contributions and not the household income
- Income Related Employment and Support Allowance. Please note the ‘new style’ employment and support allowance is not a qualifying benefit, as this is based upon payment of National Insurance contributions and not the household income
- eligible for Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit and the household income (as used by HMRC to assess tax credits) is not more that £16,190. Please note: anyone eligible for Working Tax Credit, or if you have a partner and they receive it, regardless of Income, you will not qualify
- The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- In receipt of the 4 week run on of working tax credit (this is where someone becomes unemployed or reduces their hours and so is no longer entitled to working tax credit but will continue to receive it for a further 4 weeks and is entitled to free meals during that time)
- Universal credit (provided you have an annual net earned household income of no more than £7,400 as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods). Your net earned income is your household income after taxes and deductions and does not include income from Universal Credit or any other benefits you may receive.
To make an application under any of these criteria please use our online application form
To prevent a delay in your claim, please don't apply before either:
- Your eligibility to working tax credit has ended but you are still receiving child tax credit and have a household income (as used by HMRC to assess tax credits) of less than £16,190, or receive one of the qualifying benefits listed above or;
- Your claim for a qualifying benefit has been accepted and the start date for the benefit has passed or;
- You have received your benefit or tax award notice showing that you meet the eligibility criteria
- your entitlement to Universal Credit has been confirmed
Please note we are unable to backdate a claim for entitlement to free school meals to cover unpaid money or refund money paid prior to the start date of a successful application.
Children being fostered are not normally eligible to claim free school meals as the fostering allowance paid is intended to cover the cost of the provision of meals for the child.
For nursery aged children who are registered pupils of a local authority maintained, academy or free school nursery, those who meet the income entitlement criteria are entitled to free school meals on the days they receive education both before and after lunch at the school. To be classed as a pupil at the school they must be permanently registered at the school as their main base. Children who are not main registered at the school (i.e. are a ‘guest’ at the school and main rolled at the nursery provision, or only registered at their nursery provision) cannot claim for a free school meal. If you are unsure if your child is considered as a registered pupil please speak to the school for guidance – the Free School Meals Entitlement Checking Service will not be able to advise you.
Additional criteria from April 2022 for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
- Zambrano carers
- families who have no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
- families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are also subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction
- a subset of failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Chen carers
- families holding a BN(O) passport
- spousal visa holders
- work visa holders
- student visa holders
- those with no immigration status
- For all these groups the annual household income must be below £22,700 for a family with one child and below £26,300 for a family with 2 or more children
- In addition to the thresholds mentioned above, families must hold no more than £16,000 in capital and savings.
Families who wish to apply under this criteria will need to complete a different application form and provide supporting evidence. Regular checks will be carried out to confirm that the criteria is still being met, by asking you to provide up to date supporting information. If you no longer meet the eligibility criteria, the free school meals will no longer be provided for your child’
- Answer:
If your child is moving from one of the Staffordshire schools listed within the section ‘Do you deal with applications for all Staffordshire schools?’ as those we do not deal with, you will need to make a new application via Staffordshire County Council. If your child is moving to one of the school listed as one we do not deal with within the section ‘Do you deal with applications for all Staffordshire schools?’ you will need to contact the new schools for guidance on how to apply.
If you have moved from a school which is outside of Staffordshire you must make a new application.
- Answer:
We don't always need to see proof of which benefit you are on in order to process your application. We can now check to see if you are entitled by using the National Free School Meals Eligibility Checking Service.
To use this service and process your claim, we need your National Insurance number (or national asylum support service number) and your own date of birth. Please note: By applying you are agreeing to allow us to check this service and to make regular ongoing checks to confirm entitlement.
If our check shows that you are not entitled we will ask for recent, written proof of benefit. Suitable written proof includes a recent letter from the Benefits Agency giving details of the claim, your Pension Credit M1000 Award Notice, all pages of your TC602 Tax Credit award notice, a letter from the National Asylum Support Office confirming you are receiving support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or copies of the 3 most recent Universal Credit statements or entitlement letters (if you have been on Universal Credit less than 3 months please provide copies of the all the statements or entitlement letters you have received so far). Your statements are obtained by you from your online Universal Credit account. If you don't have an online Universal Credit account, to request copies of your entitlement letters please contact the Department for Work and Pensions or your Jobcentre Plus office.
If you wish to apply under the no recourse to public funds criteria, a different application form is needed which will need additional supporting information
- Answer:
If you wish to apply for free school meals for any of the following schools, you will need to contact them directly as they do not use the County Council to deal with free school meal entitlement:
- All Saints C of E Primary School, Trysull
- Bhylls Acre Primary School
- Birds Bush Primary School
- Blackfriars FE (now known as Newfriars)
- Burton Fields School
- Cannock Chase High School
- Chase View Primary School
- Cheslyn Hay Primary School
- Chesterton Primary School
- Eton Park Junior School
- Forest Hills Primary School, Rugeley
- Gnosall St Lawrence Primary Academy
- Grange School
- Haughton St Giles Primary Academy
- Horninglow Primary School
- John of Rolleston Primary School
- Lansdowne Academy
- Norton Canes Primary Academy
- Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy
- Outwoods Primary School
- Redbrook Hayes Primary School
- Richard Wakefield Primary School
- Rocklands School
- Seabridge Primary School
- St Benedict Biscop Primary School
- St John the Evangelist Catholic Academy
- St Modwen's Catholic Primary School
- The de Ferrers Academy
- Tillington Manor Primary School
- William Shrewsbury Primary School
- Willows Primary, Lichfield
- Woodseaves Primary Academy
For all other Staffordshire state schools (including academies) applications should be made through Staffordshire County Council.
- Answer:
Please note you should only complete an application if you wish to apply for free school meals because you meet the low income criteria. If you simply wish to obtain free school meals from September 2014 under the new universal infant free school meals criteria which provides free meals to all reception, year 1 and 2 children, do not complete this form but contact your school directly.
The information you provide will be used to determine initial and ongoing entitlement to make an application for free school meals for the child(ren) named on the application form and for any other siblings who join Staffordshire schools at a later date.
Please note that children being fostered are not normally eligible to claim free school meals as the fostering allowance paid is intended to cover the cost of the provision of meals for the child.
Please note there are some Staffordshire schools that do not use our service and so you will need to contact the school directly. To check which schools please see the previous question 'Do you deal with applications for all Staffordshire schools?'
Apply online
Before you apply please check that you meet the entitlement criteria. The quickest and easiest way to claim is applying online. It takes just a few minutes, you will get an instant yes or no answer and if you are entitled you can print the confirmation to give to your school to start the free meals immediately.
If you wish to apply under the no recourse to public funds criteria a different application form applies
- Answer:
At the moment, any pupil in England who was recorded as eligible for a free school meal at an English school as at 1 April 2018 under the general benefits based criteria, or who has become eligible since, will remain eligible even if their situation changes and they no longer meet the criteria, so no action is required. The government will review this in March 2025 and once that happens, we will advise parents of what that means for their child.
Pupils who receive free school meals under the No Recourse to Public Funds criteria are not protected in this way and so parents should contact the free school meals team to advise them if their situation changes. Additionally their eligibility will be re-checked on a regular basis and if they longer meet the criteria, the parents and school will be advised they are no longer eligible to receive a free school meal.
- Answer:
If your child is of secondary school age, and you are claiming free school meals or are in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax Credit you may be able to get help with the cost of school transport. More information and guidance on how to apply can be found in the County Council's School Transport Policy.
- Answer:
In line with Department for Education non-statutory guidance, there is no duty for Staffordshire County Council to provide free meals or an alternative to EOTAS pupils. Staffordshire has agreed to pay a discretionary Equivalent Food Provision grant for pupils who meet all the following conditions -
- The child is a Staffordshire resident in national curriculum year Reception to the end of year 14 and
- the child would meet the published criteria for free school meals if they were on roll at a school (under the standard benefits related grounds or No Recourse to Public Funds criteria), and have made a claim which has been verified by the County Council as eligible and
- have a live finalised Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and
- are receiving EOTAS under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and have no provision named in section I of their EHCP
The grant will be provided in the form of a supermarket voucher, the annual total value being based on the free school meals funding factor amount stated in the DfE ‘National funding formulae for schools and high needs’ guidance for that academic year. This will be paid in advance of the start of each half term (based on SCC published term dates) as 1/6th of the total annual value, rounded up to the nearest full pound.
Payments will be calculated from 25 March 2024 (the date that the new guidance was issued) or the date the finalised EOTAS EHCP was issued and FSM eligibility was confirmed, whichever is the latter. For those who become eligible for support part way through a term, payment for that half term will be reduced by 1/7th for each full week before they became eligible in that half term (rounded up to the nearest £1 with a minimum £5 payment being made). Staffordshire County Council will not provide any retrospective payments before the new guidance was issued on 24 March 2024.
Consideration will be given under exceptional grounds for other Staffordshire resident free school meals eligible EOTAS pupils who do not meet the above criteria. Each will be individually assessed based on the information provided by the applicant and there is no guarantee that a grant will be provided.
Any queries related to the equivalent food provision grant (for EOTAS pupils only) should be emailed to EFP@staffordshire.gov.uk.