Free school meals

All children attending a government-funded primary or nursery school in Southwark get free school meals.

If you have a child at secondary school in Southwark, they may be able to get free school meals if you qualify for certain government benefits.

We also have a free healthy school meals scheme for other secondary schoolchildren.

Children in care are not eligible for free school meals. The fostering allowance covers the costs of all meals for the child.

If you're privately fostering a child, you need to apply in the same way as for other children.

Check the rules for each school and age group and how to apply if you need to.

If your child attends a school outside of Southwark, you need to check the local council's and school's rules.

Appealing a decision

If your child is found to be not eligible for free school meals, you can appeal. 

You'll need to show that the information used when making the decision was not correct. Contact us to discuss.