Free School Meals

Qualifying for Free School Meals

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

Applying

Free school meals | Central Bedfordshire Council

To apply for free school meals, please call CBC on 0300 300 8306.

Please have the following information ready:

National Insurance numbers and dates of birth for you and your partner
dates of birth for your children
your NASS number if you receive support from the National Asylum Support Service

Update from CBC June 2025

The end of Transitional Protection Free School Meals 2026

Transitional Protection (TP) Free School Meals (FSM) was introduced from April 2018. This meant that if a family no longer met the income criteria for FSM the pupil could continue to receive them until the rollout of Universal Credit had completed.

The Government previously announced TP was ending on 31 March 2025, and a communication was issued to you regarding this.

You may now be aware from the news that there have been some changes to the previous guidance regarding the future of FSM. The changes will now be as follows:

· There will be new eligibility criteria from September 2026, which will allow all parents in receipt of Universal Credit to qualify for FSM not just those with earnings below the current earnings threshold.

· Transitional protection is still due to end, but it will not be until September 2026, this means from September 2026 households must meet the eligibility criteria to be entitled to free school meals, if on review they do not meet the eligibility criteria, entitlement to free school meals will be stopped.

All children currently eligible will remain to be so until these changes come into force.

From the Central Beds Website - for your reference

Students in further education and sixth form

If your child is aged 16 to 18 and attends a further education or sixth form college, please contact the college for information about free school meals. If your child attends a school sixth form, please contact us to apply.

When do free school meals start?

In most cases we will be able to confirm whether your child is entitled to free school meals straight away. As soon as we confirm that you qualify, we will inform your child’s school that their free school meals can start from the date you apply.

Your child can then get a free school meal every day from the standard menu at the school’s canteen or cafeteria. You only need to apply once, and your child’s free school meals will usually continue as long as they remain at the same school. We will contact you if there is any change to your entitlement.

Changes to free school meals from April 2025

From April 2018, the government introduced “transitional protection” for free school meals. This meant that if you no longer met the income criteria for free school meals, then your child could continue to receive them until the rollout of Universal Credit had completed. The government has now announced that transitional protection has ended on 31 March 2025. Any eligible claims starting from 1 April 2025 will not be protected when your family income no longer meets the qualifying criteria for free school meals.

The new rules mean that we will be reviewing your eligibility to free school meals on a regular basis and that you should inform us of income changes.

If you apply for free school meals after 1 April 2025

Any child confirmed as eligible for free school meals after 1 April 2025 will be subject to ongoing reviews to check their continued eligibility. The first of these reviews will be done at the end of the summer term. The frequency of reviews may change – if so, we will communicate any changes via your school and our website. It is also your responsibility as parent or guardian to let us know if your circumstances change and you think you may no longer qualify for free school meals.

If your child was receiving free school meals before 1 April 2025

Children who have been receiving free school meals before 1 April 2025 may continue to do so until the end of their current school phase (primary or secondary), even if your income changes. A review of all children leaving year 6 and moving to year 7 will be done before the start of the Autumn term each year. Once in year 7, even if your family remains eligible this child is no longer protected from future changes to your income.

How we will tell you about changes to your free school meals

We will write to you if we stop your child’s free school meals, and we will inform the school directly.

Changes you need to tell us about

You need to tell us about any changes in your circumstances which might affect your child’s entitlement to free school meals. Some examples of changes you need to report are:

you no longer wish to receive free school meals
your income no longer meets the qualifying criteria
a new partner joins your household
you move house
your child changes their name
you change your name
another child in your family starts school
your child goes into care
your child changes schools
your child moves between parents and/or guardians

Contact us

If you wish to report any changes or have any queries, please call 0300 300 8306 or email revsandbensfsm@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.