Free school meals and uniform grant

How to get free school meals

To get free school meals, children must be in full time education and parents or carers must get a qualifying benefit.

Children and young people in education

To get free school meals, children must be either:

• attending full time at school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools or, if part time, at least attending before and after lunch
• pupils in state funded primary, secondary or special schools
• enrolled in state funded further education

Qualifying benefits

You, as parent or carer, must get a qualifying benefit.

Your child or you must get one or more of these benefits:

• Universal Credit
• support under part 6 (VI) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Pension Credit

Check if your child can get free school meals

Check whether your child can get free school meals meal on the Citizens Portal.

Check for free school meals

Your result is for the whole school year (September 2026 to August 2027). We check all free school meals asssessments in the summer every year to make sure you can still get them.

If you are a family with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), check if you can apply for free school meals on GOV.UK.

Applications must be confirmed by us or your child's school.

Provision for all children

Islington are committed to providing a free meal to all children, from the age of three, receiving full-time education in an Islington funded children’s centre, nursery school or school-based nursery.

All pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state funded schools are entitled to free meals under the government's Universal Infant Free School Meals policy.

The Mayor of London funds free school meals for all children in Years 3 to 6 attending state funded primary schools in London.

Uniform grant

Your child can get one payment of £150 for their uniform if the child both:

• lives in Islington
• gets free school meals 

You do not have to contact us or apply to get this as long as your child is in year 6, you had signed up for free school meals before and your child can still get them. You will get the uniform payment when your child moves to secondary school from year 6.

If your child lives outside Islington and attends school in Islington, you should contact the council where the child lives for support.

If you haven’t registered for free school meals before, you must apply for them online. Send the result of your check (outcome assessment) to freeschoolmeal@islington.gov.uk.

Contact us

If you have any questions, contact us by:

• Email: freeschoolmeal@islington.gov.uk
• Phone: 020 7527 3196