£2.81 per day - £14.05 per week (until 17th July 2026)

£2.92 per day - £14.60 per week (from 1st September 2026 onwards)

Change to Free School Meals

As you may have recently seen in the news that the Government has announced significant changes to Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility from September 2026.

Due to these changes all children will need to be re-assessed to ensure that those eligible are able to receive the support.

Please read the following carefully and take the relevant action should it be relevant to your family.

Are your family entitled to Universal Credit? From September 2026 many more families will be eligibility for FSM.

All children in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to FSM regardless of household earnings. This mean that some families who have not previously qualified may now be entitled.

Are you currently entitled to FSM? The transitional protections that have been in place since 2018 are ending, meaning that some students who currently receive Free School Meals may no longer be entitled under the new arrangements. You do not need to do anything if your original application was made through Kent County Council as your eligibility will be automatically checked under the new arrangements. Please be aware that because the traditional protections are ending, some families whose circumstances have changed since their first application may no longer be entitled to free school meals.

What do I need to do? Please copy and paste the following link into your browser to apply for Free School Meals. Even if you were not entitled before you may now be eligible. If you do not apply you will not automatically receive your Free School Meals entitlement.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/RBHKhCDn46?origin=lprLink

Alternativly kent.gov.uk under Education and children then Free School Meals and follow the instructions.