City of Wolverhampton Council can check your FSM application, if your child is at a school that uses our FSM Eligibility Checking Service.
If your child already has an FSM claim in place, please do not apply again.
If you aren’t sure if your child has an FSM claim in place, please ask your child’s school.
If your child does not already have an FSM claim in place, the easiest way to apply is through your child’s school.
City of Wolverhampton Council does not provide uniform grants. Uniform policies and costs vary from school to school. Please contact your child’s school with any questions about school uniform.
For information about support available for all City of Wolverhampton residents, please visit:
If you need urgent help with providing food for your child/ren, please contact your child/ren’s school/s. Or, email Stay Safe Be Kind staysafebekind@wolverhampton.gov.uk or call 01902 290241. The helpline is open during office hours, Mondays to Fridays, excluding Bank Holidays.
If you have any questions about the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme, please email haf@wolverhampton.gov.uk
These are the Government’s eligibility criteria for benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM):
- 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 (provided you're not also entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
- Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018, your household income must be less than £7,400 a year. This is equal to £616.67 a month (after tax and not including any benefits you get) to qualify for benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM)
If you are entitled to Working Tax Credit (apart from during the four-week run-on period), you will not qualify for FSM, even if you have a low income.
If you are receiving Child Tax Credit only, your annual income must be less than £16,190 to qualify.
If your family has No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), you may also be entitled to free meals. Please speak with your child’s school about this.
To apply for Free School Meals, please speak to your child's school.
You will need to provide the school with:
- your full name
- date of birth
- and National Insurance (NI) number or National Asylum Support Service (NASS) reference number
Your child's school will then share your details with City of Wolverhampton Council. We check eligibility using a secure Government website.
If we find you eligible for FSM, your child's school will let you know. If we don’t find you eligible, we will continue to check your eligibility.
Schools receive valuable Government funding (Pupil Premium) for every child registered for FSM. Even if your child chooses not to eat school meals, we would still encourage you to register.
Please ask your child/ren’s school/s any questions you have about your child/ren’s school meals.
Arrangements and school meal providers vary across the City.
Please visit School Menus for information about school meals provided by the Council.
Under the Government’s UIFSM scheme, all children in Reception, Years 1 and 2 can enjoy school meals during term-time for free, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.
UIFSM are not the same as benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM).
You do not need to register for UIFSM.
Your child's school may ask if your child will be taking meals so that they can make the necessary arrangements.
If your child has a benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM) claim valid between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023, they will remain eligible for free school meals until the end of the phase of education (i.e. primary or secondary) they are in as at 31 March 2023, even if you have a change in circumstance (apart from claimants who qualify through National Asylum Support Service or receive Pension Credit).
If you no longer qualify through NASSS or Pension Credit, you should tell your child’s school or the FSM Eligibility Checking Service direct. We will then recheck your eligibility.
Transitional Protection does not apply to siblings who don’t have a claim registered in their own name. This means some of your children may be entitled to free meals but others aren’t.
If you have any other questions about free meals, please:
E-mail: freeschoolmeals@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Telephone: 01902 554128
Write: Free School Meals, Facilities Management, City of Wolverhampton Council, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1RR