Free School Meals
Parents claiming some benefits can also claim free school meals for any of their children who are registered at a Staffordshire school and who would normally be at school at lunch time. School meals are a good way to make sure that your child eats well at lunchtime. By claiming free school meals you save yourself time and money. Even if you don’t want your children to have the meals, claiming them helps their school. The more eligible parents who
claim meals, the more funding the school receives.
Who can get Free School Meals?
You can claim free school meals for your children if you receive any of the following:
• Income Support
• Income based Job Seekers Allowance
• Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit and the household income is not more than £16,040. Please note anyone receiving Working Tax Credit, regardless of Income, will not qualify.
• The ‘Guarantee’ element of State Pension Credit
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
How do you apply?
It’s easy either:
• Ask at school. They should be able to give you a form to fill in. You should complete the form, filling in the names of all the children you want to claim for, and return it to the address on the back of this leaflet. You only need to fill in one form even if your children go to different schools.
• Contact us at the address overleaf and we will send you a form to fill in.
Important
To be able to process your application we need to see proof of which benefit you get. When you send in your form please also send us a copy of one of the following:
• The pages of your benefit book which say who you are and which benefit you get
• A recent letter from the Benefits Agency giving details of what you receive
• A full copy of the TC602 form you will receive if you get child tax credit
• Your Pension Credit M1000 Award Notice
Some people have their benefits paid straight into their bank accounts and so don’t have a book and might not have a recent letter from the benefits agency. In this case please ask the Benefits Agency or Job Centre to stamp your application form in the place provided.