Free School Meals

Free School Meals provide eligible students with funding towards the cost of a school meal each day. If your child qualifies, a daily allowance is credited to their school catering account, helping to ensure they have access to a nutritious meal during the school day.   

From September 2026, there are two types of Free School Meal eligibility for families who receive Universal Credit. 

Targeted Free School Meals
If you receive Universal Credit and your annual household earnings are £7,400 or less, your child may qualify for Targeted Free School Meals. As well as receiving a free school meal, this may help your child qualify for other forms of support, such as assistance with educational visits. 

Expanded Free School Meals
If you receive Universal Credit and your annual household earnings are more than £7,400, your child may qualify for Expanded Free School Meals. This provides a free school meal during the school day but does not automatically qualify your child for other financial support, discounts or assistance that may be available to students receiving Targeted Free School Meals.

Not sure which type applies to you?
We encourage all families receiving Universal Credit to apply. The local authority will assess your application and confirm whether your child is eligible for Targeted or Expanded Free School Meals.

Who can apply?

You may be eligible for Free School Meals if you receive one of the following benefits: 

• Universal Credit
• Guaranteed Pension Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Asylum Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

How does the daily allowance work?

Eligible students receive £3.47 per school day credited to their catering account.

The allowance can be used towards a meal deal consisting of either:

• A hot meal (such as the Meal of the Day), a bottle of water and a traybake or piece of fruit; or
• A cold meal (such as a sandwich), a bottle of water and a traybake or piece of fruit. 

The Free School Meal allowance is automatically added to a student's catering account before lunchtime. If items are purchased at break time, the cost may be deducted from the daily allowance. This could mean there is not enough remaining credit to cover lunch, in which case additional funds would need to be added to the account. 

Parents and carers can top up their child's dinner account with additional funds via ParentMail, using debit or credit card, PayPal, Google Pay or Apple Pay.                                                                                                                                                            

How to apply

To apply for Free School Meals, please complete the application form below and submit it following the instructions provided on the form. Leeds City Council will check eligibility using the Government's secure eligibility checking system and may contact you if further information or evidence is required. 

Additional Benefits

Children who qualify for Free School Meals may also be entitled to additional support and benefits, including holiday activity programmes, travel assistance and other schemes available through Leeds City Council. Further information can be found on the Leeds City Council website:

https://www.leeds.gov.uk/schools-and-education/apply-for-free-school-meals                                                                                                      

Free School Meals Application Form

If you think your child may be eligible, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.