Dear Parents and Carers,
Re: Financial Support – Are You Eligible for Free School Meals? (Easy - Instant Decision)
More families are eligible for financial support through ‘Free School Meals’ (FSM) than receive them, so it’s worth an easy check to get an instant decision (without having to submit evidence) using the details below. Although young children do not pay for school lunches, school receive additional funding depending on how many families qualify for free school meals.
Your child qualifies for free school meals if you receive any of the following:
✓ Income Support
✓ Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance
✓ Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
✓ Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
✓ Child Tax Credit but no element of Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenues & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
✓ If you are supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
✓ Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment finishes or after you start to work fewer hours per week
✓ Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (£616.67 per month), as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods).
It’s easy, and you get an instant decision (no need to submit evidence as they check government databases). To check if your child is eligible, apply online for an immediate response:
In Suffolk the next deadline is 31 March 2025.
Note – Essex below:
https://www.essex.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools/free-school-meals/apply-free-school-meals