Use this form to apply for free school meals (FSM) for your child or children.
Completing this form will allow the Education Business Intelligence Unit, part of Wigan Council, to check and then subsequently advise your child’s school if they are eligible to receive a free school meal.
Important Information before you begin
- If you are entitled to free school meals and do not wish to claim the free meal, we will still share the eligibility status with your school to enable them to receive additional funding in the form of a Pupil Premium grant. This may be the case for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 who are entitled to universal free school meals. Pupil premium funding offers additional financial support to your child’s school, enabling them to deliver interventions and resources that help improve educational outcomes
- If you have a National Asylum Seeker Service (NASS) number rather than a National Insurance (NI) number - please contact your child’s school directly for further clarification on how to make a claim
- If you have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) - please contact your child’s school directly to make your claim for free school meals as there is a different process for these checks.
2026/27 Academic Year DfE Changes to FSM
From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, the DfE is expanding FSM eligibility to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit regardless of household earnings.
There are now two different types of eligibility for FSM - Targeted and Expanded FSM
Targeted FSM
Children from households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less.
Expanded FSM
Children from households in receipt of Universal Credit, with annual household earnings exceeding £7,400 will be entitled to expanded FSM.
Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Households may also be entitled to a meal if they:
- Are in receipt of income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit.
