Free school meals are available to all Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils and to children whose parents receive certain benefits.
Free school meals are changing in 2026
From September 2026, the Department for Education is extending the entitlement to free school meals to include all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit. Although eligibility will be granted to all Universal Credit recipients, it is important to note that families do still need to apply to receive the meals.
Transitional protection is ending too
If your child received a free school meal because they have been protected under transitional protection rules but you no longer receive Universal Credit, then their entitlement will end at the end of the summer term 2026. From then on, only families in receipt of Universal Credit will qualify.
You could save up to £450 a year with free school meals for your child. School meals can also save you time and provide peace of mind that your child is enjoying a healthy, fresh, and nutritious meal at lunchtime.
Free school meals for all Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to free school meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meal Scheme. You do not need to complete an application form, just get in touch with your school and they can arrange this for you.
Although this is not means-tested, if you do qualify for any financial support shown below, we would encourage you to complete our online form as this could enable your child's school to claim the Pupil Premium Funding to further support them.
Free school meals for all years for pupils whose families receive financial support
If you get certain benefits, your child could also qualify for free school meals during all school years. To qualify you must be receiving:
Universal Credit, provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods (£616.67 per month)
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
support under part six of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
the guarantee element of Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, provided you are also not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual household gross income that does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by HMRC)
Working Tax Credit run-on, paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Please note that contributions-based benefits, including contribution-related Jobseekers' Allowance do not entitle you to claim free school meals.
Free school meal applications
Not all of our schools/academies are signed up to the free school meal administration service offered by the council. If your child attends one of the following schools, you should apply for free school meals through the school. Often details, including an application form, can be found on their website:
Braeburn Primary and Nursery Academy
Coppice Valley Primary School
East Whitby Primary Academy
Filey Church of England Nursery and Infants Academy
Filey School
Friarage CP School
Harrogate Grammar School
Lady Lumley's School
Malton School
Newby and Scalby Primary School
Oatlands Junior School
Overdale CP School
Roseberry Academy
Rossett Acre Primary School
Rossett School
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School (Northallerton)
Scalby School
Scarborough University Technical College
Saltergate Infant School
Saltergate Junior School
South Craven School
St. Benedict’s Catholic Primary School, Ampleforth
St. Hedda’s Catholic Primary School, Whitby
St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Pickering
Stakesby Primary Academy
Stokesley Primary Academy
Thirsk All Saints RC Primary School
Tockwith Primary School
Western Primary School
If your school is not listed above, you can apply for free school meals using the following link:
You will receive an instant decision on whether your application is successful. If it is, we will fully process the application in five working days and notify the school. Once the school have received this your child can begin enjoying free school meals. You should continue to pay until confirmation comes through. Schools may be able to arrange reimbursement of payment made while your entitlement is being confirmed.
Free school meals claims cannot be backdated. They are awarded from the date we receive the application, once eligibility is confirmed. This is because there is a legal requirement for a request to be made, before a free school meal can be provided. If you are not entitled to free school meals, you will be notified in writing.
Once a year we will now be looking to find households who appear to qualify for free school meals but have not made an application. We will contact the families we have identified directly by letter to explain how we can help automatically enrol them onto free schools meals if they wish to receive them.
No recourse to public funds (NRPF) and free school meals eligibility
The government have extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds, subject to maximum income thresholds.
No recourse to public funds - eligible groups and income thresholds
These groups include, but may not be limited to children of:
Zambrano carers
families who have no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are also subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction
a subset of failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The maximum income threshold differs based on your location and the number of children that your family has.
Income thresholds
Under the permanent extension of free school meal eligibility to all no recourse to public funds groups, the annual household income thresholds for those families able to work are:
£22,700 for families outside of London with 1 child
£26,300 for families outside of London with 2 or more children
No recourse to public funds application process - confirming your status and income
There is a different application form for families applying under this criteria, which includes a self-declaration that can be used for verifying eligibility. This is available from your child’s school.
Your child’s school can help complete it if necessary.
Please note: the online application form should not be used for households in this category, as some families will not have a national insurance number. Those that do have a national insurance number, cannot be assessed for eligibility using the online Department of Education free school meals electronic checking system, as this only checks eligibility against an applicant’s benefits, which these families have no recourse to.
Confirming no recourse to public funds status
Please find below some examples of how you can demonstrate your no recourse to public funds status, this list is not exhaustive.
Article 8 of the ECHR
Families will be able to provide a letter from the Home Office granting them leave to remain in the UK or a biometric residence card.
Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Families will be able to provide a letter from the Home Office or local authority confirming Section 4 support or an ASPEN card.
British National overseas passport holders
Families will be able to show either a British National overseas passport or visa.
Spouse, work or student visa holders
Families will be able to show their visa.
Zambrano or Chen carers
In many (but not all) cases, the family will be able to show a derivative residence card. If they do not hold this, they must be able to show that:
the carer or parent is not a British citizen
the child is a British citizen
the carer is a direct relative or legal guardian of the child, and they have the primary responsibility for the child
there are no other members of the carers’ family in the UK or the EEA who could look after the child
Confirming your income
Families should complete a self-declaration of their income as part of their application.
To verify this, they will need to show one of the following:
payslip
P60
bank statement
letter from their bank
letter from their employer
letter from the local authority confirming support if applicable
Paid for school meals
If you do not qualify for free school meals you can still pay for excellent value school meals that ensure your child gets a nutritious and tasty meal. Find out more about what we offer on our school meals page.
Frequently asked questions
If my child is at nursery or sixth form, are they still entitled to free school meals?
Nursery children are entitled to free meals if they meet all the following criteria:
their parents receive one of the qualifying benefits for free school meals
the child receives education before and after the lunch time period
the child is in a maintained nursery provision
the parents, or another responsible adult, have made a claim for a free meal
These criteria apply whether a child is attending funded or bought hours.
Post-16 students can receive free school meals.
If your child attends the sixth form in a North Yorkshire school, we will normally administer claims.
If your child attends a further education college you should apply for free school meals by contacting the college directly.
My child currently attends a primary school in North Yorkshire and they are due to transfer to secondary school this September. Do I need to reapply for their free school meals?
If your child is moving from a North Yorkshire primary school to a North Yorkshire secondary school, then you do not need to reapply. The free school meals will automatically transfer to their new school before they start. The only exception to this is when a child is transferring to Rossett School or South Craven School. If your child is transferring to either of these schools, you should contact the school directly to ask if they need you to reapply.
If your child is moving to a secondary school which is within the boundaries of another local authority, please contact that local authority directly to find out about any reapplication process that might be necessary.
My child is moving to secondary school and currently receives free school meals at their primary school. How do the free school meals work at the new school?
The school is responsible for crediting your child's dinner account every day with the free school meals allowance. Unfortunately, we can't advise you how much this will be because it is different from school to school. However, you should be free to top up the allowance if you wish.
Please contact the school directly to find out how much the daily allowance will be.
