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Free school meals (FSM): funding

Be clear how free school meals (FSM) are funded in mainstream and special schools, and how you'll receive additional funding in 2026/27 to help you cover the cost of expanded FSM eligibility.

Updated
on 5 June 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 9183
Contents
  1. FSM eligibility expanded in 2026/27
  2. Maintained schools and academies (pre-16)
  3. Special schools
  4. Funding for UIFSM
  5. Post-16 students

FSM eligibility expanded in 2026/27

From September 2026, all pupils from households receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM), regardless of their household's annual income (before, only pupils from households who received Universal Credit and had a yearly income of £7,400 or less were eligible).

As a result, from 2026/27, there will be 2 categories of benefits-based FSM: 

  • Targeted FSM: based on the old threshold (pupils in households receiving Universal Credit with an annual income of £7,400 or less)
  • Expanded FSM: covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM but whose households receive Universal Credit

Read more in the FSM expansion grant methodology and conditions of grant documents.

You'll receive extra grant funding to help you cover the cost of expanded FSM

How FSM are