Apply for Free School Meals

Any parents already claiming a free school meal do not need to reapply; this is the process for new applications.

Free School Meals

  • Free school meals can save your household up to £418 a year per child.
  • Pupil premium – Get £1300 for your child’s school to improve education.
  • Your child is eligible for free school meals if you or your partner receive one of the qualifying benefits.
  • When making your application you are also applying for the pupil premium for your child’s school

 

How to apply for Free School Meals

You can apply for free school meals by clicking this link: https://forms.wigan.gov.uk/xfp/form/750

Any parents already claiming a free school meal do not need to reapply; this is the process for new applications.

What you’ll need to do:

  • Select your child’s school: To help avoid mistakes, each school is listed with its full name and address.
  • Add more than one child (if needed): You can include multiple children in the same application, as long as the same parental responsibility arrangements apply. This will be explained at the start of the form.
  • Provide a few details about each child: We’ll ask for their year group, date of birth, and home postcode. This helps match your child to their school record.

What happens next:

  • At the end of the application, you’ll be told when to expect a decision. Checks are carried out weekly and therefore we anticipate the waiting time to be no longer than a week. There may be some cases where some additional checks may need to take place which may mean a slightly longer time to wait. If this is the case, we will contact you.

 

Once a decision is made:

  • We will contact you to confirm the outcome.
  • If your child isn’t currently eligible, don’t worry — we automatically recheck applications every month. You do not need to keep re-applying.

What are the qualifying benefits?

 

You will be entitled to apply for free school meals and/or pupil premium for your child if you or your partner receive one or more of the following benefits:

  • Universal Credit
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • The guaranteed part of State Pension Credit
  • Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Child Tax Credit (providing you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by the Inland Revenue)
  • Working Tax Credit run-on (paid 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

If you have any questions please contact us:

Email: Enquiries@admin.byrchall.wigan.sch.uk

Synergy: general enquiries

Telephone: 01942 728 221