Changes to free school meal (FSM) policy in September 2026
Changes to Free School Meals – Act Now! June 2026
From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending these schools will be entitled to receive a free meal. This is being made a legal requirement through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and additional regulations extending this duty to maintained nursery schools.
Going forward, there will be two 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.
Below is a summary of the changes:
- The existing FSM threshold of £7,400 will remain in place for allocating disadvantage funding, accountability purposes, and other entitlements linked to FSM. Guidance refers to this as ‘targeted FSM’.
- Households in receipt of Universal Credit, with annual earnings exceeding £7,400 will be eligible for free meals. Guidance refers to this as ‘expanded FSM’.
- Transitional Protections, which have been in place since 2018, will end at the end of the current school year. Once protections end, schools will need to recheck FSM eligibility annually.
- From 1 June, new applications for FSM can be processed for the start of the next school year.
- Apply or Renew Your Existing Application Now!
Who is eligible for benefits based free school meals?
Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or 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 school where they are enrolled or by the local authority
Targeted FSM
Children from households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less (the existing threshold for FSM prior to the expansion), will be eligible for targeted FSM. In addition to receiving free meals, pupils eligible for targeted FSM will attract pupil premium and other disadvantage funding for their schools.
Expanded FSM
Children from households in receipt of Universal Credit, with annual household earnings exceeding £7,400 will be entitled to expanded FSM (meals only).
Supporting paper-based evidence
For families that are eligible for targeted or expanded free school meals but have received a Not Found (Pending) result you will need to provide the following evidence to be awarded eligibility;
- Your most recent Universal Credit statement: checked for monthly net earned income not exceeding £616.67 (a twelfth of an equivalent yearly income of £7,400). If you meet this criterion, you are eligible for free school meals and no further checks are necessary.
- If their earned income exceeds the above threshold for the most recent Universal Credit assessment period, the 2 most recent Universal Credit assessment periods will be checked for net earned income not exceeding £1,233.34 (a sixth of an equivalent yearly income of £7,400). If you meet this criterion, you are eligible for free school meals and no further checks are necessary.
- If their earned income exceeds the above threshold for their 2 most recent Universal Credit assessment periods, the 3 most recent Universal Credit assessment periods the claimant will be checked for net earned income not exceeding £1,850 (a quarter of an equivalent yearly income of £7,400). If you meet this criterion, you are eligible for free school meals.
- Only complete assessment periods will be checked.
- Claimants with annual earnings of more than £7,400 will only be eligible for expanded FSM.
- Claimants receiving support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 may be asked to provide a letter from the Home Office confirming receipt of this support.
I don’t currently claim free school meals – what does this mean for me?
If you think you might be eligible for free school meals – from September this is anyone in receipt of Universal Credit – you can submit a claim here.
For further information and guidance please email admin@st-raphaels.tameside.sch.uk or contact the school office.