Support with school uniforms, free school meals and more

Paying for schools meals can be very expensive for some families; however parents who get certain government benefits and/or Tax Credits can get help by applying for free school meals.

Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive any of the following:

• Income support
• Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you're not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
• Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.

Children in Reception, Year one and Year two are entitled to free school meals. You still need to complete an application form as this ensures the school receives the funding to pay for your child's meals.

How do I apply?

An application should be made direct to the local authority where the school your child attends is located. For children that attend The Aldgate School should apply directly to the school.

Contact

For further information call 020 7332 1002, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm or email the team.

This grant provides money to help towards the cost of school clothing and footwear for families on low incomes living in the City of London.

You will be able to claim the grant once per year for each child (attending a state school, reception to year 11) to help with the cost of school uniforms if their school has a published school uniform policy.

You may qualify to receive the grant if you receive:

• Universal Credit - if the application was made on or after 1 April 2018. Your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get).
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for four weeks after you no longer qualifies for Working Tax Credit)

Secondary grant amount

The grant amount is £160 per secondary school pupil (attending a state maintained school, year seven to year 11), this will be paid via BACS.

Primary grant amount

The grant amount is £60 per full-time primary school pupil (attending a state maintained school, reception to year six) , this will be paid via BACS.

Proof of address and school attendance

You will need to submit your latest council tax statement and a letter from the school confirming your childs details and start date.

For further information please contact the Early Years and Education Service.

To be eligible for a free meal, students must have enrolled in further education provision funded via EFSA.

Free meals are targeted at disadvantaged students. For the purposes of free meals eligibility, the definition of disadvantage is students being in receipt of, or having parents who are in receipt of, one or more of the qualifying benefits.

A student is only eligible to receive a free meal when they, or a parent/guardian on their behalf, have made a successful application on their institution.

The Funding Free Meals in Further Education guidance contains more information.

The 16 to 19 Bursary

You could get a bursary to help with education-related costs if you’re aged 16 to 19 and:

• studying at a publicly funded school or college in England - not a university
• on a training course, including unpaid work experience

A publicly funded school is one that does not charge you for attending it.

If you’re 19 and over you could also get a bursary if you either:

• are continuing on a course you started aged 16 to 18 (you are known as being a ’19+ continuer’)
• have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

There are two types of 16 to 19 bursaries

• bursaries for defined vulnerable:
  • you’re in or you recently left local authority care
  • you get Income Support or Universal Credit because you’re financially supporting yourself
  • you get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in your name and either Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit
  • you get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in your name and either ESA or Universal Credit
• discretionary bursaries which institutions award to meet individual needs, for example, help with the cost of transport, meals, books and equipment.

What a bursary is for

A bursary is money that you, or your education or training provider, can use to pay for things like:

• clothing, books and other equipment for your course
• transport and lunch on days you study or train

More information on 16 to 19 bursaries.

How to apply for a bursary

Speak to your school, college, academy or training provider about how to apply for bursary.

They each have their own applications process. If you're in one of the groups above, they may ask you to provide evidence of your status. If you're not in one of the groups above and are applying for a discretionary bursary, they may ask you to provide evidence of your household income.

Students on higher education (HE) courses may be able to get loans to help with both tuition fees and living costs.

You may also be able to apply for other help, such as a non-repayable scholarships and grants from your university.

In addition, a growing number of employers are offering degree apprenticeships and some universities and colleges are offering shorter, more intense courses.

Information here applies to students living in England and applying to university anywhere in the UK ie. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, as well as England.

For further information on student loans and tuition fees have a look at Student Finance England's page on GOV.UK.

Contact

• Student Finance England
• Tel: 0300 100 0607
• Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
• Saturday, 9am to 4pm

You could get a Dance and Drama Award (DaDA) to help with fees and living costs at one of 15 private dance and drama schools.

Apply directly to the dance and drama school you want to go to, and tell them you want to apply for a DaDA.

• You must be aged 16 to 23 for dance courses.
• You must be aged 18 to 23 for acting courses.

How much you get depends on:

• your household income
• where you live and study

For further information on DaDA have a look at Dance and Drama Awards.

The Care to Learn scheme can help with childcare costs while you study.

You must be aged under 20 at the start of your course.

The scheme is available for publicly-funded courses in England.

For more information on the Care to Learn scheme have a look at Care to Learn.

You could get a bursary to help with education-related costs if you’re aged 16 to 19 and:

• meet the residency requirements (your college will check this)
• be at a specialist residential centre (your college can confirm this)
• be too far to travel to each day (your college must agree with this)
• be full-time education
• be ‘16 to 19 funded’ (your college can confirm this)

If you’re 19 and over you could also get a bursary if you either:

• are continuing on a course you started aged 16 to 18 (known as being a ’19+ continuer’)
• have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

For further information on Residential Bursary Fund have a look at Get funding for college accommodation.

You may be able to get help with the cost of accommodation from the Residential Support Scheme (RSS) if you’re aged 16 to 19 and:

• meet the residency requirements (your college will check this)
• not be on housing benefit
• have a household income of less than £30,993
• be studying your first level two or level three qualification (for example two or more A levels, a diploma or a national vocational qualification)

If you’re 19 and over you could also get a help if you either:

• are continuing on a course you started aged 16 to 18 (known as being a ’19+ continuer’)
• have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

Your course must:

• not be at a specialist residential centre (your college can confirm this)
• be full-time at a college in England
• be ‘16 to 19 funded’ (your college can confirm this)

Your course must also be more than either 15 miles or a two-hour round trip from your home, and not available any closer than that.

For further information on Residential Support Scheme have a look at Get funding for college accommodation.