Glossary · UK
What is Free School Meals Eligibility?
A means-tested entitlement to free lunches for children of families receiving qualifying benefits, separate from the universal infant free school meals given to all children in Reception to Year 2.
Full Definition
Free School Meals eligibility is a means-tested entitlement that gives eligible children a free lunch at school, distinct from Universal Infant Free School Meals, which is available to every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in England regardless of household income. To qualify for means-tested free school meals, a parent or carer must usually be receiving a qualifying benefit such as Universal Credit with household income below a set monthly threshold (currently £7,400 a year net earnings, excluding benefits), 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 (with no Working Tax Credit and income below the relevant threshold), or Working Tax Credit run-on. Eligibility is checked automatically in many areas through an eligibility checking service linked to the school or local authority, and once a child becomes eligible in England they normally keep the entitlement for the rest of their time in that phase of education even if household circumstances later change, under transitional protection arrangements. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each run their own free school meals schemes with different qualifying rules and, in some cases, wider universal provision extending to more year groups than in England.