Free School Meals

Is my child eligible?

There are important national changes to Free School Meals (FSM) coming into effect from September 2026. These changes may affect your child’s eligibility, so please read the information below to understand what this means for your family and any action you may need to take. 

 What is changing? 

• Until the end of the 2025–26 academic year: Children were eligible for Free School Meals if their household received Universal Credit and had an income below £7,400. 
   
• From September 2026: All children in households receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for Free School Meals, regardless of income. 

 This means many more families will now be able to benefit from free school meals. 

• End of current protections: 

At present, any child who qualified for free school meals since April 2018 will keep that entitlement even if family circumstances change, this is called Transitional Protection.  This protection will continue until the end of the 2025/26 school year.   

From September 2026, eligibility will be based on your current circumstances.  This means some children may gain or lose eligibility depending on changes to household income or benefits. 

 What should you do now? 

• If you think your child may be eligible, please complete this short online form (Free school meals - West Sussex County Council). 
  
  Free School Meals are not awarded automatically, so an application is required even if you receive Universal Credit. 

Registering could raise money for your child’s school

Registering for free school meals could raise an extra £1,320 per year, per child, for your child’s primary school, to fund valuable support like extra tuition, additional teaching staff or after school activities.

This additional money is available from Central Government for every child whose parent is receiving one of the welfare benefits listed in the form. It is therefore important to sign up for free school meals, even if your child is in reception, year 1 or year 2, so that your child’s school receives as much funding as possible