Sign up for free school meals

Find out if your child is eligible for free school meals.

Free school meals

School meals are free for your child or children if you receive:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
An income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Child Tax Credit and have an annual income of £16,190 or less (but not if you are in work and receive Working Tax Credit)
The guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Universal Credit, provided you have an annual net earned income not exceeding £7,400 (£616.67 a month)

How to apply if your child attends a Knowsley school

You will need to apply for free school meals by completing an application on the parent portal link below.
You can only apply for free school meals using this online parent portal if your child is attending school within the Knowsley Borough.

You can only apply for free school meals if your child has been enrolled at their relevant school, otherwise you will have to wait until your child has been enrolled at school.

Apply for free school meals

How to apply if your child attends a school that is not in Knowsley

If your child attends an ‘out of borough school’ then you must apply for free school meals using the 'Out of Borough schools’ application form below.

	Your details
Title:*
If other:
Surname:*
First name:*
Date of birth:*
National insurance number:*
	Your partner's details
Title:
If other:
Surname:
First name:
Date of birth:
National insurance number:
	Contact details
Address including postcode:*
Daytime telephone number:	Please include your full telephone number including the area code
Mobile number:
Email address:
Give details of any changes in surname or address:
	Details of school age children who live with you
Child 1 - Surname:*
Child 1 - First name:*
Child 1 - Date of birth:*
Relationship to you or your partner:*
School name:*
School year (e.g. Year 7):*
Child 2 - Surname:
Child 2 - First name:
Child 2 - Date of birth:
Relationship to you or your partner:
School name:
School year (e.g. Year 7):
Child 3 - Surname:
Child 3 - First name:
Child 3 - Date of birth:
Relationship to you or your partner:
School name:
School year (e.g. Year 7):
Child 4 - Surname:
Child 4 - First name:
Child 4 - Date of birth:
Relationship to you or your partner:
School name:
School year (e.g. Year 7):
Child 5 - Surname:
Child 5 - First name:
Child 5 - Date of birth:
Relationship to you or your partner:
School name:
School year (e.g. Year 7):
Details of more children:
I agree to the declaration below:*	Yes

Universal Credit

If you are in receipt of Universal Credit and have an annual net earned income not exceeding £7,400, you should complete the application form on the parent portal above.

If you have recently applied for Universal Credit due to a change in your circumstances brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, there will possibly be a delay in confirming your eligibility for free school meals while your application is being processed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Note: If you are over 18 and still attend school, you can claim for free school meals if you receive any of the first three allowances listed above.

Please make sure you have read the qualifying information before you submit a claim.

The person receiving the qualifying benefits must complete the form.

Parent/carer declaration:

I confirm that the information given on this form is complete and correct.
I will inform you immediately if any of the details on the form change.
I will inform you immediately if my financial circumstances change.
I agree that you will use the information I have provided to process my claim for free school meals and will contact other sources as allowed by law to verify my initial, and ongoing, entitlement. I understand that the results of any free school meals eligibility check may also be used to assess my entitlement to receive school transport if appropriate.
I understand that I will have to pay for the cost of the meals taken if I do not tell you about any change of circumstances and my child/ren receive free school meals that they were not entitled to.

General Data Protection Regulations

The information that you give on this form will be used for the purpose of processing your application for free school meals. The Local Authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it handles and may use the information you have provided to prevent and detect fraud. We also share this information, for the same purpose, with other government departments that handle public funds.

Latest menus

School meals offer great value for money and provide your child with a nutritious, tasty meal cooked fresh every day.

School meals are:

Nutritionally balanced to ensure they are low in fat, sugar and salt and high in vitamins and minerals – healthier than many packed lunches
Helping your child to concentrate throughout the day – a hot meal at lunch-time provides energy – as well as encouraging them to try new foods
Produced to a high quality using locally produced ingredients
Helping your child to learn the social skills that eating and interacting with others brings
Great value for money - £2.10 for a primary school meal and £2.15 for a secondary meal deal

Please contact us if you require a document in a different format.