Free School Meals

Entitled to Free School Meals? 

If you feel you might be able to claim free school meals you can apply by visiting www.stockport.gov.uk/start/free-school-meals-application-form . If you would like some help with completing the form, please contact your child’s Pastoral Manager through the contact us form. 

Before you start – You will only need to know your National Insurance number. 

You can apply for free school meals if you are receiving any one of the following criteria. 

• Income Support 

• Universal Credit (provided your household income is less than £7,400 a year after tax and not including any benefits you get) 

• income related Employment and Support Allowance 

• income based Job Seekers Allowance 

• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 

• Child Tax Credit only with an income of less than £16,190 

• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit 

Please Note  

You do not have to send in proof of your qualifying income as Stockport will verify your claim with the Department for Work and Pensions. However, if you are in receipt of Universal Credit you will need to provide your most recent Universal Credit award letter as Stockport are currently unable to verify your claim. It is essential that you know that none of your personal data will be shared with the school since this is a confidential process between Stockport, the DWP and you as an individual. 

Your child will not be singled out in any way by being a recipient of free school meals since they will use the card system in the same way as everyone else and their account will be credited automatically by £2.26 per day. If your child does receive free school meals school can then access additional funding to further support their education. 

How Stockport will use your data 

The council primarily use your data for processing your grant application, this may be shared with the local authorities, DWP, and other government departments in accordance with their organisational privacy notice. Stockport will never sell your data to third parties or use it for any other purpose without your consent. 

School uniform clothing grants 

Clothing grants are also available for those pupils who receive free school meals, see Stockport Council's website for more details, www.stockport.gov.uk/clothing-grants. 

The Holiday Activity Fund 

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is funded by the Department for Education. It funds holiday activities which include food for children during the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays. We're working with local schools, voluntary and community organisations and childcare providers to deliver the programme across Stockport. You can find out more about the national HAF programme on the GOV.UK website. 

• up to 16, 4 hour sessions throughout the summer holidays 

• up to 4, 4 hour sessions through the Christmas holidays 

There will be no cost to parents for the sessions. 

Some clubs offer longer sessions and some provide specific sessions for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or additional needs. 

Holiday clubs will be include a variety of fun activities, including sports, music, arts and other exciting opportunities to learn and develop skills. Children will also receive a nutritious meal each day. 

Eligibility 

To be eligible for a free place, children must receive benefits-related free school meals. 

If you think you might be eligible for benefits-related free school meals, but do not currently claim them, you can find information about how to apply on our free school meals web page. 

If you have any questions about the programme or if your child does not receive free school meals but you feel that you need to access a free place, you can email the HAF team on [email protected] 

HAF funded holiday clubs and activities will be listed on the childcare directory. Each club will have details of how to sign up. 

If you need help to find information or to sign up for clubs and activities, you can email [email protected]. 

New clubs and activities will be added in the run up to the holidays. Check back another time if you cannot find anything suitable in your area.