Free School Meals

The school uses a service provided by Slough Borough Council to check if parents are eligible to claim free school meals for their children.  Eligibility is checked by the local authority using information from the Department of Work and Pensions, the Home Office and HM Revenue & Customs.  Parents are not required to provide documentary evidence each term to prove they can still claim for free school meals; claims are automatically re-checked using the information already provided.

Families in receipt of the following benefits are entitled to claim free school meals:

Universal Credit (provided the applicant has an annual net earned income of no more than £7400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of their most recent assessment periods)

• 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 Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190 for the financial year.
• Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ – the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

If you think you may be eligible to claim free school meals for your child, please complete the Slough Borough Council on-line free school meals form.  You will be informed by the Council if your application is successful or not and they will also notify the school.  This replaces the need to complete the Application for Secondary Free School Meals Part A form, which is now no longer required.

The free school meals system is managed with complete discretion.  Once eligibility is confirmed, your child will have an allowance allocated to their cashless catering account each day. This allowance will be sufficient for them to purchase a balanced meal.  They can choose what to spend the allowance on; however, money not used does not carry over to the next day.

The school receives £985 Pupil Premium funding for each child who is eligible for free school meals to help your child and others access to additional learning experiences and resources.  If you are eligible for free school meals but wish your child to bring a packed lunch from home, please still apply so the school receives the additional Pupil Premium funding.

Please contact us if you have further queries.