Schools will need to keep free school meals eligibility under “continued review” from 2026, the government has said, after extending them to all households claiming universal credit.
But leaders have been told to only recheck eligibility once every 12 months, to avoid “any sudden loss of entitlement during the school year”.
Ministers announced the extension this week, predicting more than 500,000 more children will get free meals. However, schools have been told the extra pupils won’t attract important disadvantage funding via the pupil premium, which is now also under review.
Here’s what schools need to know.
What is changing?
At the moment, children are only eligible for free school meals if their families or carers receive certain benefits and their pre-benefit total household income is below £7,400.
From September 2026, all pupils who have at least one parent or carer receiving universal credit will be eligible, regardless of their total household income.
How many pupils will this affect?
The government estimates more than 500,000 additional pupils will become eligible as a result of the change.
It has arrived at this figure by taking Department for Work and Pensions data on the number of children in UC households, and subtracted the current numbers claiming means-tested free school meals.
The DWP also estimates that by 2030, the expansion will pull around 100,000 children out of poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has predicted a similar figure in the long term.
How much will it cost, and where is the money coming from?
The DfE estimates the annual cost of providing meals to the additional pupils will be around £250 million.
But that is based on the current annual funding rate of £495 a year, which has not kept pace with rising staffing, food and energy costs.
£495 a year works out at around £2.60 per meal. The IFS estimates that if funding had risen with inflation, it would stand at £3.18 per meal.
The DfE has said it has received over £1 billion in new funding for the expansion over three years.
Will schools get more pupil premium cash?
The government has said that the pupils who become newly-eligible as a result of the expansion will not attract pupil premium funding.
The pupil premium is funding of up to £1,480 a year for every pupil who has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the previous six years.
This funding will continue to only be paid to FSM recipients whose household income falls below the old £7,400 threshold.
Will schools lose funding?
There has been speculation that schools could see their pupil premium funding reduced as a result of the changes.
That’s because the government has confirmed that “transitional protections” – put in place to stop pupils losing FSM eligibility during the rollout of universal credit since 2018 – will be scrapped next year.
The previous government had planned to end them this year, but Labour has extended them to end when the extension to universal credit takes effect.
The protections meant that if pupils’ household income rose above £7,400, they would not lose eligibility until the end of their school phase.
For example, a pupil in year 3 whose parents started to earn more money would still get free meals until the end of year 6.
The DfE believes most of those currently on transitional protections will continue to receive free meals because their families remain on universal credit, even if their income has increased.
And once the protections end, pupils who do lose eligibility for free meals will continue to attract pupil premium funding for six years because of the so-called “ever6” rule.
What happens after that?
The DfE said that over the longer term, “we recognise there are disparities in outcomes for children attracting pupil premium and this government is committed to doing more to improve the life chances of our most disadvantaged children and break the link between background and future success”.
It is “therefore reviewing how we allocate pupil premium and related funding to schools and local authorities to address this issue and ensure it is targeted to those who need it most – while maintaining the overall amount we spend on these funding streams”.
Pupil premium spending is due to rise to around £3 billion, so the DfE has effectively committed to continuing to spend that on the fund, even if numbers do reduce.
However, given it is reviewing how funding is distributed, it is possible they may scrap or replace the pupil premium with a different fund, or several different funds, so it is hard to say whether schools will definitely lose any funding in the longer-term.
What do schools have to do now?
The DfE has said it expects “the majority of schools will allow parents to apply before the start of the school year 2026, by providing their national insurance number to check their eligibility”.
In guidance published this week, the DfE has said that while transitional protections remain in effect, schools and local authorities “do not need to keep eligibility for free school meals under continued review”.
From the beginning of the 2026-27 academic year, schools and local authorities “will need to keep free school meal eligibility under continued review”.
They should recheck eligibility for all pupils in receipt of free meals ahead of the October census.
However, the department said it does not expect rechecks of eligibility to be carried out “more than once a year to prevent families from experiencing any sudden loss of entitlement during the school year”.
Further guidance will be issued ahead of the 2026-27 academic year.
Is government doing anything to make applying for meals easier?
The DfE confirmed earlier this year it is redesigning its system for checking free school meals eligibility to allow parents and schools to use it independently of local councils.
It follows growing calls for auto-enrolment nationally. Some councils are already doing this, and have reported promising results.
At present, the government’s “apply for free school meals” service simply points users to their local council’s website. Councils then have access to a digital portal to check their eligibility based on the benefits their families claim.
But minister Stephen Morgan said earlier this year “that checking system is being redesigned to allow parents and schools to check eligibility independently of their local authorities.
“The system will make it quicker and easier to check eligibility for free school meals, and has the potential to further boost take-up by families who meet the eligibility criteria.”
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