Free school meals

National free school meal changes from September 2026

Changes to free school meals

End of transitional protections

Since 2018, some children have received free school meals even if their family circumstances changed during the rollout of Universal Credit. Now that entitlement for free school meals is being expanded to all families on Universal Credit, these protections will end.

This means:

Some children may no longer be eligible from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year if their family does not receive Universal Credit or another qualifying benefit
Eligibility will now be based on current benefit status

Expanded entitlement for families on Universal Credit

From the start of the 26/27 academic year,all children in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals, regardless of earnings.

There will be two types of free school meal eligibility:

Targeted FSM: for households in receipt of universal credit earning £7,400 or less. Children eligible for Targeted FSM will be entitled to other educational entitlements such as the Holiday Activities and Food programme (Holiday, Activities, and Food programme) and the ‘extended rights’ element of school travel assistance. Pupil Premium funding will be provided to schools based on children eligible for Targeted FSM.
Expanded FSM: for households in receipt of universal credit earning above £7,400. Children eligible for Expanded FSM will receive free school meals but will not be eligible for the additional support that children eligible for Targeted FSM are entitled to.

If you are not entitled to qualifying benefits (also known as having ‘no recourse to public funds’), your child may be eligible for free school meals if they meet separate criteria (please see the 'no recourse to public funds' website link below).

All pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 will continue to be entitled to free school meals under the universal infant free school meals policy regardless of family circumstances. It is recommended you apply for free school meals even though your child receives a free meal, as they might be able to benefit from entitlements such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, and your child's school will receive pupil premium funding.

What parents need to do

If your child currently receives free school meals:

In most cases, you do not need to re-apply
Your child’s school or the local authority will check your eligibility automatically using the details already held and inform you of any changes to your FSM eligibility
In some cases, your child’s school or the local authority may contact you to confirm your details
If your child is starting a new school in September, they will be in touch to advise if you need to confirm your details or re-apply.

If your child does not currently receive free school meals:

You may now be eligible
You will need to apply – please see the guidance below on how to make an application

NOTE: Please be aware that, if you have more than one child, their eligibility status will be dependent on your financial circumstances at the time when the check is done. A child's eligibility won't be affected by, or affect, the status of a sibling. Please ensure you send requests at the same time to all the schools attended by your children.

Children in or with experience of social care

Children who are looked after (LAC) or have been adopted are not automatically entitled to FSM solely because of their looked-after status or residential placement.

Eligibility needs to be confirmed against the qualifying criteria for the child to be awarded benefit-related FSM.

Pupil Premium funding

The Pupil Premium provides extra funding to schools based on the number of pupils eligible for Free School Meals, or who have been in care, or are from service families. The funding is allocated to schools per eligible pupil. However, Pupil Premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils, and schools can spend the funding so that it also benefits pupils who do not meet the funding criteria. Evidence shows that developing high-quality whole class teaching can be very effective in supporting eligible pupils to make good progress in their learning.

From September 2026, children who received free school meals during the transitional protection period will attract pupil premium (PP) funding for their school under what is known as 'Ever6'. This includes pupils who are no longer eligible for free school meals under the new system, or who are eligible for Expanded FSM. These pupils will remain part of the 'Ever6' cohort for 6 years.

From the 26/27 academic year, only children eligible for Targeted FSM will be included in the 'Ever6' category in future years. This means that children eligible for Expanded FSM who cease to be eligible in future years will not be considered 'Ever6' and will not attract pupil premium funding for their school.

How to apply for Free School Meals

Please download the document below, fill in the details and send it to your child's school(s), making sure that the information you send to the school matches your benefit registration details.

If the result of your application is that your child is not eligible, please check whether you receive the appropriate benefits (Apply for free school meals - GOV.UK). Please address queries to your child's school rather than Wokingham Borough Council.

Changes to the Free School Meals application system in Wokingham

Parents may have heard about plans to introduce auto-enrolment for free school meals in Wokingham. This will mean that children who are eligible for free school meals will be enrolled for free meals automatically without the need for parents to apply. Parents will be able to opt out of this process if they do not want to be included.

This will be introduced during the academic year 2026-27. Schools will be in touch with parents about this. Until this system is introduced, the guidance above on how to apply for free school meals applies.

Further information concerning FSM eligibility

General guidance

Information for the self-employed and asylum seekers

Evidence of eligibility for free school meals (Annex B) - GOV.UK

No recourse to public funds

Providing free school meals to families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) - GOV.UK

For school staff: please visit the Wokingham Schools Hub site for guidance and documentation.