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
Child tax credit (but not working tax credit) with an annual income below £16,190
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Universal Credit - From the 1st of April 2019, to qualify for free school meals through receiving Universal Credit, your yearly net earnings must be no more than £7,400.

Find out more about tax free and taxable benefits (external website).

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 can be made directly to a bank account or to the Home Office, who will handle 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 your child is in sixth form (the School Essentials Grant is not available for pupils in sixth form).

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

The closing date to apply for free school meals for the 2025/2026 school year is Sunday 31 May 2026.

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