Changes to Free School Meals from September 2026

The rules for Free School Meal (FSM) Eligibility are changing from the new academic year that starts in September 2026. With the aim of helping more families The Prime Minister has changed the criteria to enable all families, in receipt of Universal Credit, to get Free School Meals.

Changes for the 2026 to 2027 academic year

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending school will be entitled to receive a free meal.

Going forward, there will be 2 categories of benefits-based free school meals:

•              Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing threshold, covering pupils who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less

•              Expanded FSM, a new category covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit

Ending transitional protections

Transitional protections for free school meals have been in effect since 1 April 2018. This has meant that pupils becoming eligible for free meals under the benefits-based criteria have retained their entitlement, even if their household circumstances have changed.

This Transitional protection for free school meals will come to an end on 31 August 2026.

Pupils must meet the new eligibility criteria for free meals, to continue receiving this provision.

Who is eligible for benefit related free school meals from September 2026

From September 2026 the Government have announced they are changing the eligibility criteria for free school meals which will ensure that additional families will be able to receive them.

FSM eligibility is expanding to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit regardless of household earnings. Free school meals are available to pupils 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 local authority (Derbyshire County Council)

Parents can access the online FSM application via the Derbyshire County Council website to be added to the FSM database. The link to the website is Free school meals - Derbyshire County Council

Alternatively, a paper application form can be completed which can be found below or a copy requested from the school office.