Who is entitled to Free School Meals
From September 2014 every child in Early Years Foundation Stage, Year One and Year Two will receive a school meal irrespective of family circumstances. You can still be eligible for “free school meals” because of your financial circumstances and receive a qualifying benefit (which is detailed below). If you are receiving a qualifying benefit then please inform Central Bedfordshire Council as the school will receive extra Pupil Premium funding from the Government which will be used to support your child’s education.
The qualifying benefits to receive free school meals are:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit, and your annual gross income does not exceed £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- Universal Credit (during the initial roll-out of this benefit)
If you think you meet the free school meals eligibility criteria, call Central Bedfordshire Council on 0300 300 8306. When you call to apply for free school meals, please have the following information ready:
- National Insurance numbers and dates of birth for you and your partner
- Dates of birth for your children
- If you receive support from the National Asylum Support Service, your NASS number
This information will be used by Central Bedfordshire Council to check for eligibility to claim additional grant money (Pupil Premium) from central government. It will be used for no other purposes and will remain confidential to the council.
For more information about Free School Meals the please visit Central Bedfordshire Council’s website:
https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/53/benefits/4/free_school_meals/3
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