Ealing Council has extended eligibility for means-tested free school meals (FSM) to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, effective from September 2025. The decision, announced at the Ealing Schools Forum meeting on Wednesday, 2 July 2025, aims to provide greater support to families and ensure more children have access to nutritious meals during the school day.
The forum was informed that the government announced the extension in June 2025 and has confirmed that the new entitlement will be fully funded.
Existing transitional protections will continue until September 2026. These protections are in place to ensure that no child loses eligibility and then becomes eligible again in September 2026 under the new criteria. After September 2026, all children will need to meet the new extended free school meal eligibility criteria, with eligibility rechecked annually.
The forum heard that currently, just over a third of FSM eligible children in Ealing schools are only eligible as a result of transitional protection and would not meet the existing means tested FSM eligibility criteria based on their current household circumstances.
The extension of free school meal eligibility was part of a broader discussion at the Ealing Schools Forum, which also included updates on school funding, Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) outturn, and high needs funding. The July 2025 School Forum Report provided detailed information on these topics.
