Is my child eligible?

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically get free school meals if they go to school. It's called universal infant free school meals. You do not have to apply to get these meals, but if you do receive one of the benefits listed below, you should still apply. This is because it can help raise extra funds for your child's school (called Pupil Premium). This Government funding can help with extra tuition, teaching and after school activities.

If your child is in Year 3 or above, you must receive one of the following benefits to get free school meals:

1. Universal Credit - with an annual earned income of no more than £7,400 after tax
2. Income Support
3. Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
4. Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
5. Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
6. The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
7. Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
8. Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual gross income of no more than £16,190

You must apply for these free school meals.

Apply for free school meals

You can apply online for free school meals using your Norfolk Education Online (NEO) account. You can use the same account for 2-year-old childcare funding and school admissions.

Click below to apply:

Apply for free school meals

Pupil eligibility and funding rates 2023 to 2024

This table shows how the pupil premium grant is allocated to schools and local authorities in financial year 2023-24, based on per pupil rates.

Service pupil premium (SPP)

Service Pupil Premium is additional funding for schools with pupils who have parents serving in the armed forces. It has been combined into pupil premium payments to make it easier for schools to manage their spending.

Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract the service pupil premium grant, at the rate of £335 per eligible pupil in financial year 2023-24, if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

• one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces, including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service - this includes pupils with a parent who is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England
• registered as a ‘service child’ on any school census in the past 6 years
• one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme

This funding is primarily to enable schools to offer pastoral support and help mitigate the negative impact of family mobility or parental deployment. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if the school deems this to be a priority.