Free meals are available to any full-time student who is still at school and eligible. This includes nursery children who attend full days and also sixth form students.

Meals are not available for students at further education level.

You can get free school meals for your child if you or your partner gets either:

• Income Support
• Income based Job Seekers Allowance
• Child Tax Credit only (with a family income of less than £16,190 as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs)
• National Asylum Seekers Support
• Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit
• Employments and Support Allowance - Income Related only
  

Please note: If you are currently in receipt of Working Tax Credit then you do not qualify for free school meals.

However, if you are receiving Working Families Tax Credit and have stopped working, you may qualify for Free School Meals for four weeks (from the date you became unemployed).  Or if you have reduced your hours to less than 16 hours per week, you could be eligible for Free School Meals for four weeks from the date your hours reduced.

In order to ensure your children receive Free School Meals for the four week period allowed, you will need to provide paper evidence of your benefit and accompanying evidence to support your reduction of hours or  your unemployment.

If your Working Families Tax Credit stops and you begin to receive one of the above benefits you will continue to be eligible after the four week period.

If you increase your hours or begin working and continue to receive Working Families Tax Credit your Free School Meal entitlement will stop.