Free school meals (FSM)

If you are in receipt of the following support payments, your child will be entitled to receive FSM:

• Universal Credit – from 1 April 2018 provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), that does not exceed £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

If your child attends a school or Luton Sixth Form College after the age of 16 they will still be able to have FSM up to the age of 19 (provided you are still eligible).

From 1 April 2018, all existing FSM pupils will continue to receive FSM whilst Universal Credit is rolled out. This applies even if they no longer meet the eligibility criteria during that time. This protection will continue until March 2025.

Transitional protections are put in place on an individual child basis, not on a family basis. This means that younger children will not automatically become entitled to FSM simply because their older sibling is in receipt of transitional protections.

Families in receipt of FSM under the No Recourse Public Funds criteria are not transitionally protected.

All infants in reception, year 1 or year 2 are entitled to FSM, regardless of the parent/guardians circumstances. This scheme is referred to as universal infant FSM (UIFSM).

Parents meeting the standard FSM criteria are still strongly encouraged to apply as the government gives schools additional funding ('pupil premium') for every pupil who successfully registers for FSM.

The government provides schools with additional funding to support or enhance the learning of pupils who are currently or have been entitled to FSM. The additional funding received through the Pupil Premium grant can help fund valuable support including extra tuition, additional support staff or providing after school activities.

Pupils do not have to register for pupil premium funding – they just have to make an application for FSM, students then attract pupil premium funding for their school. Every school should have a system in place for pupils to register for FSM and should be able to direct parents to the relevant forms, department at their local authority etc.

FSM can be considered for children who attend nursery before and after lunch. The child should be accessing early education during a period that includes the lunch period.
For FSM eligibility queries please contact your child’s nursery directly.

We aim to assess your claim within 5 to 10 working days. On your claim form please provide all current contact information as we may need to contact you for further information regarding your claim.

Please make sure you have the following details before making a claim:

• national insurance number
• details of the school your child attends
• claimants and the child’s personal information
• list of benefits you receive

Apply for FSM

If we have informed you that your child or children are not entitled to FSM and you believe this decision is wrong, please provide evidence which confirms your entitlement within one month from the date of our notification letter.

This should be in the form of a full benefit award letter from Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HMRC or documentary evidence from the Home Office.

For example, your latest Child Tax Credit award letter showing all pages for the current year. Please note documents and letters older than three months are not acceptable.

We can then review your child’s or children’s entitlement to FSM.

The rules have been permanently extended FSM eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), subject to maximum income thresholds.

Eligible groups

These groups include, but may not be limited to children of:

• Zambrano carer
• 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

The maximum income threshold differs based on your location and the number of children that your family has.

Income thresholds

Under the permanent extension of FSM eligibility to all NRPF groups, the annual household income thresholds for those families able to work are:

• £22,700 for families outside of London with 1 child
• £26,300 for families outside of London with 2 or more children
• £31,200 for families within London with 1 child
• £34,800 for families within London with 2 or more children

For more information on these rules visit the Providing FSM to families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) page.

Apply for FSM (NRPF)