Qualifying for free school meals
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- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
The online checking system only confirms or denies your eligibility to claim free school meals, it does not give us any other information. If you are currently in receipt of either Universal Credit or the 4-week run on of Working Tax Credit the system will not automatically be able to determine your eligibility, therefore you will need to send proof that you are in receipt of these benefits to the Free School Meals office once you have completed and saved your application.
When your eligibility has been confirmed and your application processed, you will be sent an email confirming eligibility. The school will also receive notification of your child’s application. The online checking system will continuously check your eligibility status and inform you and the school of any changes.
