Free School Meals

Eligibility

Children eligible for free school meals must be in school all day. They will be provided with a meal at lunchtime which is paid for by the school.

Parents and carers who receive any of the following are entitled to free school meals:

• Income Support (IS)
• Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related)
• Universal Credit with an annual household income of less than £7400 after tax
• Income-based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA)
• Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit, with an annual taxable income (as assessed by HMRC) of less than £16,190

Only the benefits listed above qualify for free school meals. If you have recently become unemployed, but are still receiving Working Tax Credits, you may be entitled to free school meals. Please phone Somerset Council on 0300 123 2224 for advice.

Apply for free school meals

You can apply for free school meals online using the following link

Somerset Council - Apply for Free School Meals The form will take approximately 3-4 minutes to complete.

Alternatively you can print a copy of the application form for free school meals, fill it in and send it to - Entitlements Team, County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY

Free School Meals application form

 You do not need to send evidence with this application.  If the Council need evidence at a later stage, they will contact you.

Other eligibility criteria

 Children of families who don’t receive these benefits may also qualify for free school meals if the family’s annual household income is:

• no more than £22,700 for families outside of London with one child
• no more than £26,300 for families outside of London with two or more children.

Also, families must hold no more than £16,000 in capital and savings.

And the parent or carer meets any of these criteria:

• you are a Zambrano or Chen carer
• families who have no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
• families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are also subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction
• a subset of failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• you hold a British National (Overseas) – BN(O) – passport
• you are a spousal visa, work visa or student visa holder
• you have no immigration status.

If this applies to you, please complete the Free School Meals to Families with no recourse to public funds form and return it with the appropriate evidence to fsm@somerset.gov.uk 

 What happens next?

The Council will check your application and let you know the outcome, usually within 10 working days.  If you are eligible, the Council will tell you how to start receiving free school meals.