School clothing and meals grants

Free school meals and assistance with school clothing can be claimed if you are receiving any one of the following:

• Income Support
• Income-Based Job Seekers Allowance
• Child Tax Credit, but not in receipt of Working Tax Credit, and your income is less than £15,575 effective from 6 April 2008 (as assessed by the Inland Revenue)
  • Please note that if you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit you do not qualify for Free School Meals or Assistance with School Clothing.
• If you are 16 – 18 yrs old and receive any of these benefits in your own right then you can claim for yourself
• If you are an asylum seeker receiving support under part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999. 

The clothing allowance, in normal circumstances, is made once per school year, and payment is made directly to the applicant for the sum of £50 for every eligible child in Primary or Secondary school. (For claims received after December 2008, the sum of £25 is paid for every eligible child)

An Application Form for free school meals and the clothing grant can be downloaded from the current documents section.  Application forms are also available from Service Points, Head Teachers and Area Education Culture and Sport Offices.

You must include proof of entitlement with your application form.   This should be one of the following documents which should be given to you by the Benefits Office:

• Current Letter of Entitlement
• Tax Credits Award Notice
• Home Office Immigration Form

Completed application forms, with proof of entitlement, should be returned to your local Area Education Culture and Sport Offices or a Service Point.  

A new application needs to be submitted for the start of every new school session in August.