Free School Meals

Primary school children in state-funded schools in London will get universal free school meals for the 2023/24 school year. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is providing the funding as an emergency cost of living support measure. The Mayor recognises that families are in urgent need of support, irrespective of their income. We have included our full time nursery children in this initiative.

We would still like to encourage parents/carers to be considered for the low income free school meal grant and will make termly checks to see who is eligible. Parents/carers who are in receipt of the benefits listed below are eligible.

• 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 guaranteed element of Pension Credit

• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)

• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get) at the time of your application. If your income goes above the threshold in the future, but you remain on Universal Credit, your child will remain eligible. If you applied before 1 April 2018 there was no household income threshold for Universal Credit claimant

Why apply for free school meals?

The number of children who qualify for free school meals affects our school funding so we still ask all parents/carers for permission for us to check their free school meal status, even if they are currently receiving free meals under the government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme. At present, the school receives pupil premium funding of £1,345 per year for any children who are entitled to free school meals which we use to fund additional teachers and important family support services. For information about how this is used to benefit your child, please click here to see the Pupil Premium Report.

How to Apply

We have tried to make the free school meal application process (and termly re-checks) as easy as possible for parents. At Tidemill, we ask for your details (date of birth, national insurance number and surname) as part of our admission process. By providing this information, you are consenting to us running termly checks to see if you are eligible for free school meals.

If you are eligible for free school meals, Tidemill will refund the first £25.00 you spend on Parentpay each school year. The Free School Meal Grant (£25 per annum) can be used to pay for trips, clubs and school uniform.

Please contact the school office if you require help applying for free school meals.