As a parent or carer, if you are in receipt of certain benefits then you may be eligible to claim free school meals. At Darton High School, this scheme works well with our cashless catering system. As such students do not need to collect dinner tokens and will not need to do anything different when purchasing their lunch. All students who have registered for free school meals have their accounts automatically updated every day to include their free school meal allowance for lunch.
Eligibility
Free school meals are available to students in full time education whose parents or guardians receive one of the following:
- income support
- income based job seekers allowance
- income related employment and support allowance
- guarantee element of state pension credit
- child tax credit with no working tax credit and have an income as assessed by the Inland Revenue that does not exceed £16,190 (subject to change annually)
- support under Part 1V of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Pupils are also entitled to free school meals if they themselve receive any of the above allowances in their own right.
Children whose parents or guardians are in receipt of working tax credits and disabled working tax credits do not qualify for free school meals.
How to apply
The council only has a duty to provide a free school meal once a request has been made by a parent, so if you meet the above criteria, you need to complete an application for free school meals and return it to the Directorate for Children, Young People and Families Scheme of Aid Section. You can also apply in person at The Civic Centre on Eldon Street, Barnsley between 1 and 2pm Monday to Friday.
For more information please visit the Barnsley Council website.
