Free School Meals

Guidance Notes and How to Apply

Please keep these notes for reference

The amount allocated for the free school meal, (currently £2.60), will be automatically added by the system on a daily basis. Any unspent part of the allowance, is removed from their account at the end of the day, and will not roll over to the next day’s balance. The student can add extra cash to their balance using any of the methods mentioned above. This will enable them to have a greater daily spend than the free school meal allowance, for example, for an additional snack at break time.

Free School Meals are administered by The Appleton School and the qualifying rules are decided by Central Government.

Who is eligible for free school meals?

Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
• 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 guarantee 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 four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

In addition, the following pupils will be protected against losing their free school meals as follows:

• Since 1 April 2018, all existing free school meals claimants have continued to receive free school meals whilst Universal Credit is rolled out. This applies regardless of any change in household circumstances, including if their earnings rise above the threshold during that time. Protections will remain in place until the end of the 2025/26 school year.
• From the start of the 2026/27 school year, the Department for Education will extend entitlement to free school meals to include all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit. It is our intention to end transitional protections alongside this change in threshold, with eligibility for all pupils reverting to whether they meet the eligibility criteria, regardless of whether they were previously protected. We will issue further guidance ahead of September 2026.

A pupil is only eligible to receive a free school meal when a claim for the meal has been made on their behalf and their eligibility, or protected status, has been verified by the school where they are enrolled or by the local authority.

How to Apply:

Apply online

If you do not have access to the Internet and require an application form, or you have any questions, please contact the Finance Office by telephone on 01268 794215 Option 5.

When an application is agreed, you will be advised either by email or letter and the school will be advised directly of the decision.

Entitlement is reviewed termly and you will be notified if the entitlement has ceased.