Free School Meals

Changes for the 2026 to 2027 academic year

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending these schools will be entitled to receive a free meal.

We have made this a legal requirement through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and intend to lay additional regulations extending this duty to maintained nursery schools.

Going forward, there will be 2 categories of benefits-based free school meals:

• Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing threshold, covering pupils who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less
• Expanded FSM, a new category covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit

Ever 6 FSM Cohort

Pupils who are, or have been, eligible for FSM over the last 6 years are part of the ‘Ever 6’ FSM cohort. This is used for disadvantage funding and accountability purposes. Following the expansion of FSM, Ever 6 FSM will be based on targeted FSM.

Ending transitional protections

Transitional protections for free school meals have been in effect since 1 April 2018. This has meant that pupils becoming eligible for free meals under the benefits-based criteria have retained their entitlement, even if their household circumstances have changed.

Transitional protections apply until the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year. All pupils eligible for free school meals under the benefits-based criteria before the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year should continue to receive this entitlement until the end of that academic year.

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, transitional protections for free school meals will end. Households must meet the FSM eligibility criteria from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year to continue receiving provision.

MAGIC BREAKFAST

 Last year Magic Breakfast provided our children with free cereal and bagels to eat at home. This year we are continuing this support with toast for breakfast in school.  

The National School Breakfast Programme has now announced the launch of its breakfast at home area on the Family Action website. The breakfast at home area shares with parents the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast, and the impact this can have on their child’s readiness to learn, health and wellbeing. It offers tools to support parents in providing a low cost, nutritious daily breakfast.. 

Their easy to navigate breakfast at home website contains six main categories; get organised, nutrition and wellbeing, family fun, top tips, recipes and videos and research. Within these categories are planners, hacks, information about what’s in cereal, nutrition factsheets, ideas for weekend breakfast, quizzes and much more. 

www.family-action.org.uk/BreakfastAtHome