Register for free school meals to help out your school
If your child is eligible for free school meals, it's worth registering them even if they're not going to have the school lunch. This is because schools receive a 'pupil premium' - an extra payment for each eligible child which they can spend on useful services. Registering might also get you extra help for things like music lessons or school trips.
Free school meals are for children who:
live in the city of Salford (the area covered by Salford City Council); and go to school (not a day nursery or children's centre)in Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford or Wigan)
If you live outside the city of Salford, but your child goes to a Salford school, complete the online form here: www.salford.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/free-school-meals.
Who is entitled to free school meals:
registered pupils at primary and secondary free schools, academies and local authority maintained schools(including a sixth form centre attached to a maintained school); and pupils attending maintained nurseries, as long as they are receiving education before and after lunch.
From September 2014 parents of children who are 16 and over, who are attending a further education college or a sixth form centre (not attached to a school), can apply to their child's college for free meals if they get a qualifying income listed below.
Who qualifies?
Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:
-
Income Support
-
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
-
Income-related employment and support allowance
-
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
-
Universal Credit (not working)
-
Universal Credit (working and net earnings are less than £7,400 per year)*
-
Child Tax Credit, provided they are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
-
Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit Run-on, paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
-
If you get support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
* Please note: To be entitled to claim free school meals (FSM) when working and claiming Universal Credit, the earnings for one period should be no more than £616.67, earnings for the last two periods should be no more than £1,233.34, and the earnings for the last three periods should be no more than £1,850.00. Therefore if your earnings for one, two or three periods are below the upper earnings limits stated, you would be entitled to claim FSM. You will need to upload screen shots of each page of the relevant payment statement(s), especially the page(s) showing any deductions that are being made, with your online application, so we can then determine if you are entitled to claim free school meals. However, if your earnings for one period exceed £616.67, or if your earnings for two periods exceed £1,233.34, or if your earnings for three periods exceed £1,850.00, then you would not qualify to claim FSM.
Children who receive any of the above benefits in their own right (for example they get payments directly, instead of through a parent or guardian) can also get free school meals.
To apply for free school meals you can do this in two ways.
Telephone: 0161 793 2500 (option 3)