Free school meals in England

Who is entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) in England?

Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided they are 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 4 weeks after a person stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit – with household income of less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits) from 1 April 2018, with transitional protections for existing claimants

​​Children who get any of the above benefits in their own right (i.e. they get benefits payments directly, instead of through a parent or guardian) can also get free school meals.

Since September 2014, free school meals have also been provided for all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. This duty applies to local authority maintained schools, academies and free schools.​​​​

In June 2025, the government announced that, from the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil whose household is on Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals.

Free school meal eligibility also extends to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), subject to maximum income thresholds.

Free school meals may also be available to pre-school children and those in school sixth forms, sixth form colleges, and further education colleges.

Can children or young people under or above compulsory school age receive FSM?

Children under the compulsory school age who are in full-time education may also be able to get free school meals.

Free school meals are available to pupils who attend sixth forms attached to a maintained school, as long as the course of study began before the pupil reached age 18.

Pupils who study in sixth form colleges, Further Education colleges or other providers are not entitled to free school meals, although individual colleges may provide them.

Can children in academies or free schools receive FSM?

Yes.

These schools’ funding agreements provide the framework within which these schools operate and requires free schools and academies to provide free school meals to eligible pupils aged up to 18 years. This requirement also applies to pupils in these institutions who are aged 19 or over, if their course of study began before they turned 18.

Do children need to be registered in order to receive FSM ?

Yes, except for children in infant school who receive meals as a matter of course.

The gov.uk website provides information on how to apply for free school meals.

Some local authorities automatically register pupils for FSM when their parents apply for eligible benefits, but this is not universal. There has been some discussion in Parliament about how an automatic registration system might operate.

Are schools required to run breakfast clubs?

Not currently, although many do.

Family Action deliver breakfasts under a contract with the Department for Education to supply breakfast clubs in schools in disadvantaged areas, where over 40% of pupils are in bands A-F of the income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI). All participating schools receive a 75% subsidy for the food and delivery costs of breakfast club provision.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduced to parliament in December 2024 would require breakfast clubs to be available before school begins at all state-funded primary schools in England.

750 schools are taking part in an early adopter scheme that began in April 2025. Guidance for early adopter schools has been published by the Department for Education, as has a list of the chosen schools.

Who is responsible for providing FSM?

Local authorities are responsible for providing free school lunches and applications must be made through the relevant local body.

How are school meals funded?

Generally, school meals are funded through the central funding for schools, rather than a specific grant. Universal infant free school meals are, however, funded by a separate grant.

Further information

• School meals and nutritional standards (England), Commons Library research briefing

About the author: Robert Long is a researcher in the House of Commons Library specialising in Schools’ policy.

Disclaimer

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