Student benefits and grants

Information and guidance about free school meals, school clothing allowance, travel to school and student loans for further education.

Free school meals, school clothing allowance and healthy meal allowance

Free school meals and school clothing allowance are available to families who receive certain benefits, this entitles students to a free school lunch and money to contribute towards school uniforms.

Healthy meal allowance is available to students in two secondary schools, Woodlane High School and Fulham Cross Academy. All students at these two schools are offered a free school meal at lunchtime.

Please complete the free school meals, school clothing allowance and healthy meal allowance application form make a new claim.

Apply now

If you already have an existing claim and wish to report changes to your circumstances, please complete the online form.

Report a change

Eligibility

We encourage all families who think they may be eligible to apply for these benefits.

Families may be eligible for free school meals and clothing allowance if they receive the following benefits: 

  • Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
  • income support
  • income based jobseeker’s allowance
  • income related employment and support allowance
  • support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • the guarantee element of pension credit
  • working tax credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit)
  • child tax credit (with no working tax credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190.

To check if your child is eligible, we need information about you and your child.

Applications for free school meals and clothing grants are taking longer than normal to process. We are very sorry about this and working hard to deal with all applications as soon as possible. Please contact us if you have any concerns.

Rates for clothing allowances

School clothing allowance is awarded for the following:

  • £31 for children aged 4 (Reception)
  • £31 for children aged 7 (Year 3) born before the 1st of September of the current year
  • £79 for children aged 11 (year 7) 
  • £79 for children aged 14 (year 10) born before 1st of September of the current year

It is not awarded yearly, and the system will award and pay automatically to the bank details you will provide on your application. Please make sure you enter your bank account details accurately to avoid delays in receiving the money.

Universal Credit transitional protection

Pupils currently receiving free school meals will continue to receive them while Universal Credit is rolled out. This will apply even if your earnings rise above the new threshold during that time.

Once Universal Credit is fully rolled out, pupils receiving free school meals but who no longer qualify for them because your earnings have risen above the new threshold will continue to receive them until the end of their current phase of education (primary or secondary).

More on school meals

Travel to school

Your child may be eligible for free school travel, up to and including year 11, where it is not possible for the journey from home to school to be completed by bus only, either because the journey would take too long or because it would involve more than two changes of bus.

Visit our travel to school page for more information.

Student loans and grants for further education

A government agency, Student Finance England, now deals with applications and queries about student loans or student grants for tuition fees and living costs, extra help, student loan repayments.

All enquiries should be made directly to Student Finance England, see Contact Student Finance England (GOV.UK)

Ways to contact us

benefits@lbhf.gov.uk

020 8753 6681 - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

If you want to discuss the application with an officer please email us.

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