Free school meals

We fund free healthy school meals in all school nursery classes and maintained nursery schools.

Schools decide how the funding is used. They may choose to use it to provide free:

• lunches
• breakfasts
• healthy snacks throughout the day

This is to best suit:

• the needs of children
• attendance patterns
• on-site facilities

Ideally, the funding should be used for healthy lunches or healthy breakfasts.

If your child is not in for breakfast or lunch, the funding can be used for a healthy mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack-meal. 

Eligibility

If you pay for a nursery place, your child will not be entitled to a free school meal.

Your child will be eligible for free school meals if they:

• are at least 2 years old

• attend a Southwark Council-run nursery school or academy

Early years education funding

If a child gets:

• 15 funded hours per week, they're entitled to 3 meals per week

• 30 funded hours per week, they're entitled to 5 meals per week

Programme aims

Our free healthy eating programme was developed to promote: 

• positive eating environments and meal times
• a healthy balanced day, including portion size
• sugar reduction
• water and milk only
• packed lunches
• attendance patterns
• opportunities for learning

We'll continue to fund free meals for nurseries run by us.