What are free school meals?
Free school meals are school lunches which are provided each school day for pupils, for which no charge is made.
» For more information please see the read the free school meal leaflet (865KB PDF file).
Healthy eating
School meals are a great way to ensure your child is eating a healthy and well-balanced meal during the school day.
Every school meal served meets the government's rigorous nutritional standards - good to know as evidence suggests that eating well improves a child's concentration and learning.
Who can get free school meals?
Your child will be entitled to free school meals if they go to school in Waltham Forest, and you or your partner get one of the following incomes:
- Income Support
- Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- The Guarantee Credit element of State Pension Credit
- Support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS)
- Support from the local authority Social Services Asylum Team (SSAT)
- Child Tax Credit, provided that:
- you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit (but see below), and
- your annual income (as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) is £16,190 or less
- Working Tax Credit (but only for four weeks after your employment finishes)
We will only ask you to provide evidence of your income if we are unable to get confirmation ourselves.
In some rare cases, pupils can apply for free school meals on their own behalf. Please contact us if you think this may apply to you.
How to apply
To get free school meals, you must first make an application. You can do this in any of the following ways:
- Filling in a free school meals online application form.
- Downloading and filling in the the free school meals application form (69KB PDF file) and returning it to our office
- Telephoning us on 020 8496 8550 Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. We can then take your application over the phone
- Visiting Waltham Forest Direct (WFD). WFD is open between 8.30am-6pm, Monday-Friday, and 9am-1pm on Saturday
You can also apply for free school meals when you claim Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit. Just make sure you answer the free school meal questions when filling in the form
How will I know when my child can have free school meals?
After we receive your application, we will check if your child is entitled to free school meals. We will then write to you to let you know our decision. If you are entitled to free school meals, we will also tell your child's school.
Is there a quicker way to find out?
If you visit one of our WFD shops, we can check if you are entitled, and:
- if you are entitled, we can give you a letter to take to the school
- if we can't decide on your application there and then, we will give you a "holding letter" to take to the school. This letter will say that you have made an application but it hasn't been decided yet.
What if my circumstances change?
Important: you must tell the Benefits Service of any changes that might affect your entitlement. Some of the changes are:
- Your Tax Credit changes
- You start work
- You change address
- Your child changes school
- You stop getting benefits or your benefits change.
Use the online form to report a change in your circumstances if you a claiming benefit
If you have moved within the borough, report your change of address and make a claim at your new address
