If you have been notified of entitlement to Free School Meals before the beginning of the school term in August, Free School Meals will be available from the first day of the school year and will remain available until the end of the school year.

If Free School Meals are awarded later in the school year, the entitlement will begin the day after your award notice has been issued, and will remain available until the end of the school year.

Unfortunately, we are unable to backdate any entitlement to Free School Meals or reimburse any payments made before entitlement is granted.

The way Free School Meals are provided may vary depending on the school your children attend. 

Please contact your school if you require further information regarding this.

If you have been approved for Free School Meals your child may also be entitled to a free breakfast (Note – this does not automatically include all P1 to P5 pupils). 

However, not all schools have breakfast clubs. See individual school pages to see if they have one.

The School breakfast clubs page has more information.