On this page: Information about Free School Meals, whether you are eligible, and links to ways to apply.
Eligibility for Free School Meals
Pupils are entitled to free school lunches if their parents or carers receive:
Income Support; (or Guaranteed Pension Credit for over 60 years)
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Child Tax Credit, (but not Working Tax Credit) and who have a yearly taxable income of less that of £16,190
An Income Related Employment & Support Allowance
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Please check with your child’s school if you think you may be entitled to free school lunches. By claiming Free School Meals, this entitles your school to additional financial resources which are not available to them otherwise.
How to Apply
You can apply for Free School Meals in two ways:
Eligibility Checks
During a period of entitlement there may be a change in circumstances and free school meals may be withdrawn. The most common reasons include:
The parent or guardian ceases to receive a qualifying benefit
The child leaves school
The family move out of the borough
The child is absent from school for a long time
Parents are advised when receiving their entitlement letter that they should inform the Business Support Unit if their circumstances change, but if the school becomes aware of a change which will affect entitlement, then we can accept details of the change from the school.
Audit checks are made on a termly basis of parents and carers of children who are currently claiming Free School Meals to ensure that they still meet the eligibility criteria.
Parents/carers who are found to be no longer eligible will be written to, inviting them to provide additional evidence to prove that they are still entitled to claim Free School Meals.
Parents/carers will be asked to provide this evidence within three weeks. If they are unable to provide sufficient evidence that they are still entitled to receive Free School Meals, their entitlement will be withdrawn. There is no route of appeal for the parent against this decision.
Schools will receive a list of those students whose entitlement has been withdrawn, alongside their list of eligible students.
Should you have any queries with this process, please e-mail us at schoollunches@swindon.gov.uk or phone Swindon Direct (please see below).
Further Information/Contact
Please direct any enquiries regarding Free School Meals to Swindon Direct.