Free school meals

You may be entitled to receive free school meals if you receive certain benefits or support. Applying can also help your child's school receive additional funding through the Pupil Premium to support learning, such as extra tuition, additional teaching staff and after-school activities.

Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits: 

• Universal Credit
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

A pupil is only eligible to receive a free school meal where both:

• a claim for this support has been made
• their eligibility has been verified by the school where they are enrolled or by the local authority 

Households may also be entitled to a meal if they:

• are in receipt of income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit
• meet criteria set out in separate guidance for families with no recourse to public funds

Why should I apply?

If you receive Universal Credit or other eligible benefits or criteria, it is important that you apply for free school meals, even if your child already receives free meals through another scheme.

Registering can help:

• ensure your child receives all the support they are entitled to
• help your child's school receive additional funding through the Pupil Premium
• support schools to provide services such as breakfast clubs, after-school activities, mentoring and additional support for pupils who need it most

Free school meals for infants

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 can get free schools meals whether the parents receive benefits or not.

If you receive benefits it is still important that you to complete a free school meals application, even if you don’t want your child to receive a free meal.

Your child’s school will get extra government funding for every child registered as eligible for a targeted free school meal. This funding is to support learning and is called the ‘pupil premium’.

Mayor of London Universal Free School Meals (UFSM)

The Mayor of London is funding free school meals for all children attending London state primary schools. This means that all pupils in London state primary schools can receive a free school lunch each day through the Universal Free School Meals programme.

If you receive Universal Credit, you should still apply for Government-funded Free School Meals. This helps your child's school receive additional funding through the Pupil Premium, which supports children's education.

More details about the programme can be found online

Who is eligible?

Children may be eligible for free school meals if they attend:

• Brent primary school
• Brent secondary school
• Brent sixth form
• A nursery attached to a Brent school and attending for a full day (before and after lunch)

Information for families

Read the Mayor of London's letter to families about Universal Free School Meals

No recourse to public funds

Children from households with no recourse to public funds may be eligible for free school meals, subject to maximum income thresholds.

Full details on free school meals are available on the Department for Education website.

Applicants should complete the application form on the Department of Education website and e-mail it to school.admissions@brent.gov.uk

You can apply for free school meals online, if you think you are eligible.

Eligibility for free school meals will not be backdated, so please make sure you apply as soon as possible. If this is your first application, you will be asked to provide proof of child benefit.

You can also apply by:

• asking your child’s school for a paper form which you can return to them, or direct to us
• requesting a paper form by calling our admissions team on 020 8937 3110 which you return to us.

Include your email address and/or your mobile number to receive updates on the progress of your application.

You should contact us straightaway if your benefits change or stop.

This is because you may no longer qualify for free school meals. You can be asked to repay the cost of any meals you were not entitled to claim.

Schools receive extra government funding for every child registered as eligible for a free school meal if their parents receive benefits.

This is £1,550 for children in primary school and £1,100 for children in secondary school. 

If your child goes to a Brent primary or secondary school, and you get benefits, it is very important that you fill in an application form for a free school meal.

Your child’s school can use this money for:

• extra tuition
• learning support assistants
• art therapy
• booster classes
• educational trips
• after school clubs