Skip to content ↓

Temporary extension of Free School Meals eligibility

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Government are temporarily extending the offer of free school meals to include families who have no recourse to public funds and if you are not already receiving FSM.

Your child may temporarily qualify for free school meals if your family has an income of less than £7,400 a year income AFTER tax, that means that you take home less than £616.00 a month. 

Your income can be through working full or part time, or any of the benefit payments.  It may be that you are on low income, recently lost your job or had reduced hours. It may be due to you not being entitled to benefits due to an investigation. No matter what reason, if you are taking home less than £616 a month in total for all adults within your home, and

  • If you are granted Leave to Remain as a ‘Zambrano' carer (the legal guardian or direct parent) but you are not a British Citizen,  you are the primary carer of a child who is a British Citizen, and that there are no other members of the of family in the UK or the EEA who could look after the child.
  • If you are granted Leave to Remain under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of your rights to a private and family life. Evidence could include a letter from the Home Office granting you leave to remain, or a biometric residence card. 
  • If you are supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act, your child may also temporarily qualify for free school meals. Evidence could include a letter from the Home Office or local authority confirming Section 4 support, and should be dated within the last six months.
  • With exception of those receiving support under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, you must also be earning less than £7,400 per year after tax.

Further information about the temporary extension for people with no recourse to public funds is available on:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups

Please complete this application form if you are in one of the following categories and would like to apply for free school meals during the temporary extension:

To fill in this form, all applicants should complete:

  • part 1 and 2;
  • the relevant section for their category in parts 3-5; and
  • part 6, apart from those receiving support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

When completed, please ensure that you have agreed the declaration at the end of the application.

01. Learner details

02. Parent/carer’s details

Category applying under*

03. Zambrano carers

Please tick the boxes next to each of the following statements to confirm that you meet the criteria.
Carers must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible.

If you are the holder of a derivative residents card you may be asked to share a copy of this with us at a later date

* Please also complete section 6.

04. Leave to remain in the UK under article 8 of the ECHR

You will be asked to provide evidence of this at a later date. Evidence could include a letter from the Home Office granting you leave to remain, or a biometric residence card.

* Please also complete section 6.

05. Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

You will be asked to provide evidence of this at a later date. Evidence could include a letter from the Home Office or local authority confirming Section 4 support, and should be dated within the last six months.

* People applying under this category are NOT required to complete section 6.

06. Evidence of earnings

To be eligible for free school meals, applicants must also show that they are earning less than £7,400 annually. This equates to a maximum of £616 per month. (Where possible, you may have to provide a document to show this at a later date – this could be a bank statement, a pay slip or an employment contract.)

Declaration of applicant

*
*