Free School Meals

If you think you might be eligible for free school meals, please ensure you apply as soon as possible following the instructions below.

 

Benefits you will receive:

  • Free school meal for your child each day
  • Reduced music instrumental tuition fees
  • Discounts on some school trips
  • Bursaries in the sixth form
  • The school receives additional funding, which benefits all students

Free school meals are available to some secondary school pupils. Your child may be eligible for free school meals if you get any of the qualifying benefits.

You must apply for free school meals for your secondary school child by using the Citizens Portal.

Students in Further Education

Students aged between 16 and 18 and attending a further education funded institution can claim free meals if you receive one of the qualifying benefits.

Students who are registered for FSM in Year 11 and are Islington residents usually receive the following bursaries:

  • £300 Islington Council (Year 12)
  • £300 Richard Reeves funding (Year 12)
  • £500 Richard Reeves funding (Year 13)

You must apply for free meals for students 16 to 18 by using the Citizens Portal.

Qualifying benefits

Your child may be eligible for free school meals if you get any of the qualifying benefits:

  • Income Support
  • Income–based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Child Tax Credit if your taxable income is less than £16,190 and you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit
  • the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
  • support under Section VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • 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 and your household income is less than £7,400 a year after tax and before benefits

Children who get paid these benefits directly, and not through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals. 

Your child might also get free school meals if you get any of these benefits and your child is both:

You may be eligible if you have no recourse to public funds, see Providing free school meals to families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) - GOV.UK

If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they’re in on 31 March 2025.

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Uniform grant 

Your child can get a one-off uniform grant if they:

  • live in Islington and
  • are eligible for free school meals.

Islington Council will pay £150 to help with the cost of school uniforms when your child moves to secondary school from year 6. If your child lives in another borough, even if they attend school in Islington, you should contact your borough council for support.

If your child is currently in year 6, you previously registered for free school meals and they are eligible under the national criteria, you’ll automatically receive the uniform grant.

If you haven’t registered for free school meals before, you must apply for this service using the Citizen Portal and choose the free school meals option. Please send the outcome assessment to FreeSchoolMeal@islington.gov.uk.

Using the Citizens Portal

Download our Citizens Portal User Journey Guide from ‘useful documents’ for step-by-step instructions for using the Citizens Portal to register or apply for free school meals. You must have a working email address to use the Citizens Portal.

More information

For more information, please email the Free School Meals team on FreeSchoolMeal@islington.gov.uk