Schools receive Pupil Premium funding to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap with their peers.
Free School Meals (FSM)
The Education Act 1996 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and free schools to provide free school meals (FSM) to pupils of all ages who meet the criteria. This means pupils get a choice of healthy, hot meals, with cultural, dietary and religious requirements catered for, every school day, at no cost to the family.
Some schools also offer reduced rates for school trips, clubs, after school care, holiday activities and uniform to children who receive free school meals.
Free school meals are worth around £470 per year, per child, and they are known to help children thrive as well as:
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help children be ready to learn, contributing to improved behaviour and learning
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boost attainment and attendance
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help children achieve their potential and increase a child’s lifetime earnings
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offer the child the opportunity to develop social skills by sitting with friends whilst they eat
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help families save on food costs
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improve diet quality and helps combat childhood obesity, saving the NHS money in the long term
Changes for 2026/27
From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit these schools will be entitled to receive a free meal. This means that many more families will now qualify, even if they have not been eligible before.
Transitional protections ending
Transitional protections for free school meals have been in effect since 1 April 2018; this has meant that pupils that were eligible for free school meals under the previous benefits-based criteria historically retained their entitlement until end of phase, even if their household circumstances changed. However transitional protection is ending; pupils who are currently eligible under transitional protection will only keep this entitlement until the end of the 2025/26 academic year. Households must meet the FSM eligibility criteria from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year to continue receiving provision.
Who is eligible for benefits based free school meals?
From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, the government is expanding FSM eligibility to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit regardless of household earnings. Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:
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Universal Credit
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support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
A pupil is only eligible to receive a free school meal where both:
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a claim for this support has been made
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their eligibility has been verified by the school where they are enrolled or by the local authority
Households may also be entitled to a meal if they:
New FSM claims
Many families will become eligible for the first time under the expanded FSM criteria. To ensure that your child is eligible to receive free meals from the start of the 2026/27 academic year, then a quick application is needed via the Bedford Borough auto-enrolment scheme: Apply for free school meals - Contact Information - Section 1 - Bedford Borough Council.
Why this is important?
If your child is eligible for Free School Meals:
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They will receive free, nutritious meals every school day.
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The school will receive additional funding (Pupil Premium) to support your child’s education, wellbeing and wider enrichment. This funding helps us provide extra support such as interventions, resources and enrichment opportunities.
Auto-enrolment
Bedford Borough Council have been working on implementing an auto enrolment scheme for Free School meals, where they automatically check families’ details to determine whether they are eligible for Free School Meals. All families of pupils currently eligible to benefits related free school meals, at Bedford Borough schools, will have their entitlement re-checked over the Summer.
What you need to do to check eligibility?
We kindly ask all parents/carers to complete a quick online application through Bedford Borough Council.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM: Apply for free school meals - Contact Information - Section 1 - Bedford Borough Council. This allows Bedford Borough to check whether your child is eligible for free school meals.
Although Bedford Borough will carry out regular auto-enrolment eligibility checks, there may be occasions where some families need to apply for free school meals between checks, for example:
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if your circumstances change unexpectedly
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if you move into Bedford Borough
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if you think your child might be eligible but you have not heard from Bedford Borough
If you think that your child might be eligible and Bedford Borough checks may not have found this, you will need to complete an application.
When you apply, you can opt in to the automatic eligibility checking service.
This means:
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Your eligibility will be checked regularly
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Your child will be automatically registered if your circumstances change
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This ensures you never miss out on support you are entitled to.
Registering allows the school to receive additional funding to support your child now and in the future.
Need help?
If you would like support with Free School Meals or Pupil Premium, please contact Mr Roopnarain: roopnarains@goldington.beds.sch.uk.
Pupil Premium Strategy Statement
The academy is required to publish details of the Pupil Premium Grant it receives and how it is intended to be spent. By the December of each academic year, the Strategy Statement is reported on in terms of how the funding was used to support disadvantaged pupils and the impact this spending had on attainment. Please click below to see our latest Pupil Premium Strategy Statement.