Free school meals and clothing grant
Free School Meals: Fuel their Minds, Feed their Futures
- Apply for free school meals
- Who can get free school meals?
- Clothing grant
- Proof you must provide
- How to apply
- Contact
Apply for free school meals
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Every primary school child in Haringey is now eligible for free school meals, but did you know that by applying for free school meals, you are also helping schools get the valuable Pupil Premium funding?
Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools to enhance learning outcomes for all students. This means that when eligible families apply for free school meals, their children's schools receive up to £1,455.
Applying for free school meals also provides access to booking for Haringey’s Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Programme, which offers free holiday camps and trips with free food during the longer school holidays.
So, if you are on benefits, a low income and your child’s school is on the list of schools that manage their own free school meals, please contact your child's school directly to apply for free school meals.
If your child's school is not on the list, complete a free school meals application today:
See also:
- Haringey, Here to Help - Make sure you're getting all the benefits and support available to you
Who can get free school meals
Children in reception, year 1 and year 2
All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 who attend a government-funded school automatically receive free school meals, as part of the universal infant free school meals programme.
Parents/carers on benefits
Even though you do not need to apply for free school meals, if you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit, you should still complete an application form. By doing this, your child’s school could get up to £1,455 in extra funding through the Pupil Premium, to help improve their learning experience and outcomes.
Qualifying benefits include:
- 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 (if you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of less than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit - if you have an annual net earned income of less than £7,400 (as assessed by earnings from up to 3 of your most recent assessment periods)
Children in other years
If your child is in year 3 or above, you must be in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits listed above to be able to get free school meals.
Children who get any of these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or carer, are also entitled to free school meals and should apply.
If your child is eligible and you apply, they will continue receiving free school meals until March 2025.
Universal Free School Meals 2023/24
Thanks to the Mayor of London’s emergency funding, every primary school child in Haringey will get free school meals for the 2023/2024 academic year. This will save families about £440 per child.
Families who get one of the qualifying benefits listed above should still complete an application form for free school meals so their child’s school will get the valuable Pupil Premium funding.
Families with no recourse to public funds
The government has permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
To find out more please visit:
Young people aged 16-18
Young people aged 16-18 can also apply for free school meals if they attend a further education-funded institution like:
- general further education colleges, including specialist colleges
- sixth-form colleges
- higher education institutions
School clothing grant
You can apply for a one-off school clothing grant of £60 if:
- you live in Haringey and
- your child is eligible for free school meals and
- your child’s date of birth is between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2013 and they are transferring to secondary school in September 2024
You can apply between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 if your child starts secondary school in September 2024.
You can use your grant to buy:
- school clothes
- shoes for your child
We may ask to see receipts as proof of what was bought.
Proof you must provide
If this is your first application, you must provide proof of:
- your eligibility
- your relationship to the child
- the child's date of birth
The proof can be:
- a document, in your name, showing you are in receipt of one of the eligible benefits
- a child benefit letter showing your name, the child's name and the child's date of birth
- the child’s long birth certificate
If you do not have suitable proof please contact us. Let us know your circumstances and what proof you do have.
If applying for a clothing grant, you must provide a bank statement less than 3 months old.
Digital copies
Your application must include clear, scanned images or photographs of proof if applying:
- online
- by email
If you need help, please see our guidance on uploading files.
How to apply
- Free school meals are automatically extended to 31 March 2025 so there is no need to reapply.
Schools that manage their own free school meals
If your child’s school IS on the list of schools who manage their own free school meals, please contact the school to apply.
If you want to apply for a clothing grant, that must be done through us. Please use the online form to apply.
Other schools
If your child’s school IS NOT on the list of schools who manage their own free school meals, please apply online.
You can apply for a clothing grant at the same time.
If you cannot apply online, please download, print, and complete the; Free School Meals and Clothing Grant application form (PDF, 383KB) and post it to the address in the Contact section below.
Help to apply: If you need help applying, please contact our financial support team.
Reapplying each year
Normally, you need to reapply for free school meals every year, but it has been automatically extended to 31 March 2025, so there is no need to reapply during this protection period.
We will write to you and ask you to reapply before the protection period ends.
If your child changes school
If your child moves to another school you must tell us immediately.
Contact
Telephone
020 8489 1000
Email
FSM@haringey.gov.uk
Address
Corporate and Customer Services | Benefits
PO Box 10505
Wood Green
N22 7WJ