Verified You must apply Education & training In-kind support Regional government · Northern Ireland

Free School Meals (Northern Ireland)

Paid by Education Authority (Department of Education, Northern Ireland) · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

What this pays

The published value, how it is calculated, and whether it is cash or a credit ceiling.

Email and a six-digit code, then €50 a year. No password to forget.

The 5 published rules this programme tests you against — age, income, residency, household and the rest.

The steps, documents and official link are part of the paid plan. Checking how much you're owed stays free.

Exactly what to gather before you start, so nothing sends you back to the beginning.

Your child will be entitled to free school meals if they are at school or pre-school (full-time) and you get any of the following:

A researcher has read this record against the official page.

Last checked against the official page on 5 October 2026

Source: www.nidirect.gov.uk

Report an error Something wrong or out of date? Tell us.

Related reading: How to read a grant eligibility rule

16 more programmes are on the paid plan, with the amount, the rules, the documents and the steps for each.

Student Finance England (Student Loans Company)

Department for Education (via your education provider)

Department for Education

Department for Education (DfE) / local councils

Department for Education (DfE) / local councils

Welsh Government

Type	In-kind support
Applying	Online
Deadline	Apply through the Education Authority; for the 2026-27 school year the Universal Credit threshold is £15,900 net annual earnings.
Run by	Regional government · Northern Ireland
Record	Read by a researcher

Rule changed or link dead? Report it on GitHub — it goes to a real public issue tracker, not a form that vanishes.