Further to the ecourier alert sent on 22 May 2026, please note that from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending these schools will be entitled to receive a free meal.
Going forward, there will be 2 categories of benefits-based free school meals:
- Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing threshold, covering pupils who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less
- Expanded FSM, a new category covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit
Please note – Children of nursery age (typically 2–4 years old) can also be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) when they attend a maintained school nursery class and are in school over the lunchtime period.
Ever 6 FSM Cohort
Pupils who are, or have been, eligible for FSM over the last 6 years are part of the ‘Ever 6’ FSM cohort. This is used for disadvantage funding and accountability purposes. Following the expansion of FSM, Ever 6 FSM will be based on targeted FSM.
For further details please click here.
For Schools who are in the Northumberland County Council Free School Meals SLA, NCC will automatically recheck existing FSM Claimants but schools should encourage parents, particularly those on Universal Credit to check their eligibility online via Northumberland County Council’s Citizen’s Portal. The Free Schools Meals eligibility checking service is provided as a de-delegated service to maintained mainstream schools as agreed by Schools Forum for which the charge of £6 per FSM eligible child is automatically deducted. These schools do not need to buy into the FSM eligibility checking SLA.
All new applications for free school meals are now made online through Northumberland County Council`s Citizen Portal.
The link on the local authority`s website will direct parents to the Citizen Portal log-in page. Parents who already have their own log-in can sign in and make a free school meals application. New applicants must first register on the Portal before they can access the free school meals application.
Eligibility will be checked, and parents will receive confirmation of whether the application is successful, and their child(ren) is eligible to free school meals.
Or alternatively, the application is unsuccessful, because
- they are ineligible
- it has not been possible to check eligibility, and they should try again
- the application is incomplete
- further information is required
If a parent is making an application to commence from September under the new criteria ,while you are able and we would encourage you to apply now, a benefit check, via the Department for Education’s Eligibility Checking Engine (ECE) will be completed from mid-July, following a new software update. You will be automatically rechecked at this point and if you are entitled, a free school meal will be activated, and you will be notified of the outcome via the Citizen Portal. The school will be notified accordingly. Please do not make duplicate applications.
Each individual school will receive an email alerting it to changes in its free school meal recipients. The school can then run its own report containing the up-to-date details. A guide on how to run the report is attached.
If you have any questions around the new application process, running reports or the upcoming changes, please contact the Free School Meals team direct – FSM@northumberland.gov.uk
