Could Children in Care Lose Out Under New Free School Meals Rules?

From September 2026 as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, the government has expanded eligibility for those who are entitled to a free school meal. However foster carers have warned that they expect children in their care to lose free school meals following these changes. The charity fostering network surveyed 713 foster carers in England and 51% expected children in their care to lose free school meal entitlement from September.
Since 2018, children who became eligible for free school meals could often keep them even if their family circumstances changed however this is no longer guaranteed.  The new rules state that all children in households receiving universal credit can get free school meals, previously most families on universal credit only qualified if their annual earnings were £7,400 or less. The expansion does not remove support for children in care, however those surveyed believe the current system will depend on the financial circumstances of their foster carers. The Fostering Network backed by other organisations working across fostering services have written to the Education Secretary calling for all children in care to receive free school meals. To date there has been no confirmed government announcement that every child in care will receive school meals.

For foster carers the biggest risk is not that support is removed but that entitlements are not correctly recorded or claimed. So, a few things to watch out for include;

1. Making sure the child’s status is correctly recorded with the school. If a child is looked after by the local authority, then they should receive additional funding and support including Pupil Premium Plus, if records are not up to date after a placement move or school change support can be delayed.
2. Check free school meal arrangements after any move by asking the school and supervising social worker to confirm that meal arrangements are still in place.
3. Don’t assume the school has all the information; schools need accurate information about the child’s legal status and care arrangements to access the correct funding and support – at the start of each school year or placement change ask “can you confirm the child’s free school mean entitlement are recorded correctly”

Remember freed school meals are only one form of support, and some local authorities provide additional help so always ask the children’s supervising social worker what is available locally.