Free school meals: Transitional protection
Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2025, the criteria used to determine which pupils are eligible for free school meals was updated to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit, and the phasing out of other income-based benefits.
Transitional protection as part of Universal Credit rollout
To ensure families were not disadvantaged during this rollout, protection arrangements were put in place.
What does this mean for families?
- Any child who became eligible for free school meals up to 31 March 2025 will continue to be eligible for free school meals until the end of their current phase of education, for example children in year 1 will continue to be eligible until they leave primary school in year 6.
- Any child who becomes eligible for free school meals on or after 1 April 2025 will be eligible for free school meals but will be assessed regularly and if there is a change in their circumstances and they no longer receive a qualifying benefit, they will lose entitlement to free school meals.
Transitional protection is on an individual child basis and not on a family basis. This means that other children in the family will not automatically be entitled to free school meals. Children must meet the eligibility criteria at the time the application for free school meals is made in order to be entitled.
For schools that use Nottinghamshire County Council’s eligibility assessment service, a child is only eligible to receive a free school meal when:
- a claim for the meal has been made on their behalf
- Nottinghamshire County Council has verified their eligibility.
Nottinghamshire County Council will continue to use the DfE (Department for Education) Eligibility Checking System (ECS) to determine eligibility for free school meals.
