Free school meals are available to students in Years 7 to 13 who meet the eligibility criteria.

The UK Government announced that free school meal eligibility expanded from 1st September 2026. In addition to the previous criteria, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit are entitled to free school meals from 1st September 2026.

Temporary protections which allowed children to continue receiving free school meals without rechecking eligibility, ended at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Parents and carers making a new claim should apply through Online Free School Meals (OFSM), using the link below. Existing FSM eligibility is automatically rechecked annually; a new application is not required solely for this recheck. Please provide updated information if requested.

From September 2026 there are now two categories of benefits-based free school meal, Targeted FSM and Expanded FSM.

Targeted FSM

Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit

Families with no recourse to public funds may also be eligible for Targeted or Expanded FSM subject to separate criteria. Please contact the school office via admin@stretfordgrammar.com to request further details.

Targeted FSM can attract Pupil Premium for students in Years 7–11 and gives access to the Holiday Activities, subject to the programme’s rules.

Expanded FSM

This is the new category covering students who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit.

Expanded FSM alone does not attract Pupil Premium. Students may still qualify for Pupil Premium through Ever 6 FSM or another qualifying category.

How do I apply for Free School Meals?

In order to apply for free school meals, you will need to complete an online form via this link https://apply.cloudforedu.org.uk/. You need to complete a separate application for each child. This OFSM route also applies to students in Years 12–13 at Stretford Grammar School.

Eligibility is checked through OFSM against government-held information. Please use your existing OFSM application to provide any requested information. The school can help with application queries but cannot override the eligibility criteria or checking result.

What happens once it is confirmed that my child is eligible for free school meals?

• The OFSM system will alert us that your child is eligible for free school meals
• Eligible students receive a free school lunch through the school’s daily FSM allowance, currently £3.00.
• Your child will use the till in the lunch hall in the same way as other students. FSM entitlement is handled discreetly through the cashless catering system.
• The daily FSM allowance is automatically available during the lunch service through your child’s dinner money account.
• Your child can choose to spend more than their free school meal allowance but you will need to ensure that funds are available in your child’s dinner money account to cover any additional expenditure.
• Any free school meal allowance that has not been spent by the end of the day will not be carried over to the following day.
• Existing FSM eligibility is automatically rechecked annually to confirm entitlement and whether the Targeted or Expanded category applies. OFSM will let you know if anything changes or further information is needed.

Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium funding is provided to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. The school receives funding for eligible students in Years 7–11, not Years 12–13.

The eligibility criteria for Pupil Premium funding are:

• Pupils who are currently eligible for Targeted Free School Meals, or who have been eligible under the qualifying criteria at any point during the previous six years (Ever 6 FSM)
• children who left local authority or other state care through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order, including children adopted from state care or equivalent outside England and Wales

Children currently looked after by a local authority also attract Pupil Premium, managed by the virtual school head.

Ever 6 includes qualifying FSM eligibility before September 2026 and Targeted FSM eligibility from September 2026. Expanded FSM alone does not create Ever 6 eligibility.

Service Pupil Premium provides mainly pastoral support for eligible students in Years 7–11 who:

• have a parent serving in the regular UK armed forces (including full commitment in the full-time reserve service) and are recorded as a service child in the most recent autumn school census
• have a parent serving in the armed forces of another nation who is stationed in England and are recorded as a service child in the most recent autumn school census
• have a parent who died while serving in the armed forces and receive a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme; or have been recorded as a service child in a school census within the past six years

How do I claim for free school meals?

You can check if your child is eligible for free school meals by following the link below:

Or you can read more by visiting the website of your Local Authority below: