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Free School Meals

E-ACT Ousedale School operates a cashless payment system in the dining rooms.

Students who are entitled to free school meals have their allowance credited electronically to their account, therefore allowing them to remain completely anonymous.

Children whose parents receive the following support payments are entitled to receive free school meals:

  • Income Support
  • Employment & Support Allowance – Income related only
  • Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (NOT Contribution Based JSA)
  • Child Tax Credit only (with a combined family income of less than £16,190 per annum as assessed by HM Revenues and Customs)  Please note that anyone receiving Working Tax Credit, regardless of Income, will NOT qualify for Free School Meals
  • Working Tax Credit run-on - paid 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit - If you apply after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you receive)
  • National Asylum Seekers Support (NASS)
  • Guaranteed Element of Pension Credit.

Any pupil gaining eligibility for free school meals after 1 April 2018 will be protected against losing free school meals until March 2025. After March 2025, any existing claimants that no longer meet the eligibility criteria at that point (because they are earning above the threshold or are no longer a recipient of Universal Credit) will continue to receive free school meals until the end of their current phase of education (i.e. primary or secondary).

Students who are over 16, but still in statutory education, may receive Income Support in their own right. These students may be entitled to claim free school meals.

How to apply?

The application form can be found here: 

https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/sims

To complete an application you will need to provide:

  • Your own name and date of birth
  • Contact details
  • National Insurance Number or National Asylum Seekers Number
  • Child's name and date of birth
  • School your child is attending/will attend

Year 6 to Year 7 Transfers

Once the revised roll-out of Universal Credit was completed (31 March 2025), any losing pupil will continue to be transitionally protected until the end of their current phase of education e.g. primary in year 6 or secondary in year 11. If your child is starting Secondary school in September 2025 you will therefore need to reapply for free school meals.