Applying for free school meals
You can only apply online if you meet the low-income criteria.
If you wish to apply under the no recourse to public funds criteria a different application form applies
If you don’t meet the low-income criteria, your child can still get universal infant free school meals in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2. For this, contact your child’s school directly.
If the school you want to apply for is not listed, please contact the school.
If you want free school meals to start in September, don’t apply before 1 June.
If your child is moving schools in September (for example, from primary to high school), already gets free school meals, and is moving to any Staffordshire school (except those listed under “Do you deal with applications for all Staffordshire schools?”), you don’t need to reapply. Your claim will move automatically to the new school.
After completing an application you can print a copy of the confirmation page to give to the school for meals to start immediately. If you are unable to print you can still make your application online, but will need to wait for us to advise the school before you can start to receive the free school meals.
Your data
We handle any personal data you give us securely and in line with data protection law.
What we collect
- Your child’s name, address and date of birth
- Current and previous school names
- Parent or guardian name, address and date of birth
- National Insurance number or asylum seeker number
- Details of benefits you claim
How we use your data
We use this information to process your child’s free school meals application.
We keep your application for 6 years after it’s processed. After that, we destroy it securely.
Who we share your data with
We share your data with schools and other agencies so they can provide free school meals and meet their legal duties.
To check your entitlement, we share parent or guardian details (name, date of birth, National Insurance number or asylum seeker number) with the Department for Education’s Eligibility Checking System. This system also shares information with:
- Home Office
- Department for Work and Pensions
- HM Revenue and Customs
Only local authorities can access the Eligibility Checking System.
Keeping your details up to date
Please tell us if your details or your child’s details change.
Questions or concerns
Contact the Free School Meals Service if you have questions about how we use your information.
Read more about how we use your data in our privacy notice and your data pages.
Additional criteria: families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
Families with NRPF may also be eligible. Find out more and apply.
