Free School Meals & Pupil premium funding

What is pupil premium funding?

Pupil premium is additional funding for schools for pupils who:

Are registered for free school meals (FSM)
Have been registered for FSM at any point in the past 6 years
Are, or have been, in care
Have parents in the armed forces

Who can apply for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium funding?

You may be entitled to Free School Meals and Pupil Premium (FSM) if you receive certain benefits listed below:

Universal Credit if your household income is less than £7,400 a year or £616.67 a month after tax
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit (if 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 four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 199

My child is in reception, year 1 or year 2 - do I still need to apply?

Yes - children in reception, year 1 or year 2 get free school meals anyway through a different scheme called Universal Free School Meals. But if they are eligible for benefit based free school meals, we still really want you to register – see why below.

Children who are registered for free school meals do not have to eat them if you prefer then to have packed lunches.

However registering them is still important because for every child registered for free school meals in 2025/26, the school gets an extra £1,515 through ‘pupil premium’ funding.

This money makes a big difference to schools and the eligible pupils.

You can find more information about what we spend pupil premium on by visiting: https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/Pupil-Premium/

How does it work in practice?

If your child is registered for free school meals, they still need to pre-book their lunches for the upcoming week via Arbor but you will not be charged during the checkout process.

Will the fact my child is registered for FSM be made public?

We keep this information as confidential as possible. We do not publish identifying details of children registered for FSM.

How do I apply for Free School Meals?

If you think you may now be eligible for benefit-based Free School Meals and Pupil Premium, please follow the steps below to apply:

Click here to apply online by via Bristol City Council's website.
Or contact the school office on 0117 3772610, who can apply on your behalf.

Changes from September 2026

If your child was eligible for free school meals on 1 April 2018 or since then, they will continue to be eligible until the end of the 2025/26 school year, even if your household no longer meets the income eligibility threshold.

However, from September 2026, the eligibility criteria will be changing. Your child will be eligible for FSM if you receive Universal Credit, regardless of your annual household income. However, if you do not meet one of the income eligibility criteria, your child will not be eligible.

My household has no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Is my child eligible for FSM?

Children of households with NRPF may be eligible, this includes:

Zambrano and Chen carers (non-EEA nationals caring for a British citizen residing in the UK)
British National (Overseas) passport holders
Spousal visa, work visa, or student visa holders
Those with no immigration status
Families with a right to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights
Families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction
Certain failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

The maximum income thresholds for families with NRPF who can work are:

£22,700 for families outside London with 1 child
£26,300 for families outside London with 2 or more children
£31,200 for families within London with 1 child
£34,800 for families within London with 2 or more children

Families with NRPF must also have no more than £16,000 in capital and savings to be eligible for FSM.

NRPF: How to register for free school meals

The process for registering for free school meals is different as we have to check your eligibility in a different way. For more information, please visit find out more about the NRPF condition on GOV.UK.