Extra 500,000 children to get free school meals

Every pupil whose parents get universal credit will be entitled to free school meals from September 2026.

At the moment, children are only eligible if their household income is less than £7,400 a year.

But this expansion means an extra half a million children will be able to get a free nutritious meal every school day.

The government believes this will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, as well as lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty. 

Free school meals expansion helps working parents, says PM

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the expansion as a “truly historic moment for our country”.

“Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures,” he said.

“Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.”

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson added that reducing child poverty is the government’s “moral mission”.

“Today this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents’ pockets,” she commented.

Charity hails free school meals expansion

The Child Poverty Action Group has described the announcement as a “game-changer” for children and families.

“At last more kids will get the food they need to learn and thrive and millions of parents struggling to make ends meet will get a bit of breathing space,” said head of education policy Kate Anstey.

“We hope this is a sign of what’s to come in autumn’s child poverty strategy.”

Can my child get free school meals now?

At the moment, your child could get free school meals if you get benefits including:

• income support
• income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• income-related employment and support allowance
• support under part VI of the immigration and asylum act 1999
• the guaranteed element of pension credit
• child tax credit (provided you’re not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• working tax credit run-on - paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit
• universal credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018, your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

If you’re not sure whether your child could be eligible for free school meals, then get in touch with your local council directly. 

In most areas, you can apply through your local authority’s website, which you can find at www.gov.uk.