Free School Meals
FSM - Eligibility
If you are in receipt of Income Support, Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance, Income related Employment Support Allowance or the Guarantee part of Pension Credit or if you have an annual income (as assessed by the HM Revenue and Customs) of less than £16,190 each year (but not Working Tax Credit) you will be eligible for Free School Meals.
Free School Meals could save you up to £380 per year for each child.
By applying for Free School Meals you could also trigger additional resources for your children’s school through the Pupil Premium. For every child registered, and entitled, the school gets £900 to help children from lower income families.
If you don’t want your child to have the school meals they can continue as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered, the school will still receive the much needed, additional funding.
We can help you with this process in school as we now have an online eligibility checker which takes away the need for form-filling. Please contact Mrs Vickers - Business Manager for help with this.
How to Apply
If you are making a claim for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support then you don’t need to make a separate claim for Free School Meals. You can request Free School Meals on the same form and we will assess your entitlement at the same time.
You can apply for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support from the Benefits homepage.
If you do not need to claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support and only want to claim Free School Meals then you should fill in an online claim form.
You should also make a claim online if you are already receiving Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support and one of your children starts full-time nursery or school maintained by the Local Authority.
Please click on this link to access the online claim form. Or if you want to check in the school office please caome and talk to Mrs Vickers and bring your National Insurance Number with you.
https://www.stockport.gov.uk/topic/free-school-meals-and-clothing-grants