School Lunches
Your child will get 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 less hours per week
- Universal Credit
Click on the link below to complete an application form:
The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its guidance on Free School Meals (FSM) with important changes coming into effect from September 2026. Please read the following carefully to understand how this may affect your child/ren.
From September 2026
· Targeted FSM – this continues to be based on the current eligibility threshold. It applies to pupils in households receiving Universal Credit with annual household earning of £7,400 or less. Pupils in this group with attract Pupil Premium funding for their school and will qualify for additional support, such as Holiday and Activities Food Programme.
· Expanded FSM – this is a new category for pupils whose households receive Universal Credit but do not meet the criteria for Targeted FSM. Pupils in this group with be eligible for free school meals only. They will not attract pupil premium funding and so there will be no additional support available to them apart from receiving a free school meal.
Transitional protections for existing claims will end. This means that eligibility will no longer be protected until the end of a child’s current phase of education. Suffolk County Council will carry out annual entitlement checks for anyone on Targeted or Expanded FSM.
If you have any questions or are unsure whether you meet the new eligibility criteria, please contact the Free School Meals team at freeschoolmeals@suffolk.gov.uk
All children from Early Years through to the end of Year 2 are able to have a free school lunch under the government scheme. Menus can be found on the ParentPay tab.