Free school meals

Lunch is provided at all schools in Denbighshire. In primary schools, all meals have a fixed price. Secondary schools serve lunches on a cafeteria basis, with different prices for different meals.

Universal Primary Free School Meals

To help with the rising costs-of-living, we are working with Welsh Government so that every primary school pupil will be offered free school meals through the Universal Primary Free School Meals scheme.

This is different to the Free School Meals scheme which is available for people who receive certain benefits.

If you are eligible to receive Free School Meals because you receive a qualifying benefit, we recommend that you apply for Free School Meals as you will also be eligible for the School Essentials Grant.

Eligibility

You can claim free school meals for your child if you receive any of the following:

Income Support
Job Seekers Allowance; Income Based
Employment and Support Allowance; Income Related
Pension Credit; Guaranteed Credit
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Universal Credit, if your child is in either:
- primary school and your yearly net earnings are not more than £7,400
- year 7 or 8 at secondary school (starting from 2 November 2026)

Year 7 and 8 pupils in households receiving Universal Credit

From 2 November 2026, Year 7 and 8 pupils living in a household receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals.

Parents and carers can apply before 2 November 2026 to make sure their entitlement is assessed and support is in place for the start date.

If you have already applied, you do not need to apply again.

Foster children

Foster children are not eligible for free school meals. This is because foster parents already receive an allowance for looking after the child.

Asylum seekers

Asylum seekers may qualify for free school meals if they receive a qualifying benefit or have a National Asylum Seeker Service (NASS) number.

Payments are made directly to a bank account or to the Home Office, who will manage distribution to the asylum seeker.

How to claim free school meals

You can only apply for free school meals from the local authority of where your child goes to school.

If your child goes to a school in Denbighshire, you can apply online for free school meals.

If your child is eligible for free school meals, you will also be eligible for the School Essentials Grant, unless:

you are eligible for free school meals because you receive Universal Credit and your child is in year 7 or 8
your child is in sixth form (the School Essentials Grant is not available for pupils in sixth form)
your child receives Universal Primary Free school meals

When applying, you will use the same application to claim both free school meals and the School Essentials Grant.

Apply online for free school meals (for a child going to a Denbighshire school)