can i get free school dinners

jessi12345

hi all

can any1 please help me my husband earns 22000 a year we have 6 kids and get child tax credits at the moment we pay £52 a week in dinner money are we able to get free school meals

clairec79

I doubt it, if one of you works then it knocks out the free school meals (even if you get full working tax credits as well as full child tax)

karenx

I think the cut off is about 14k for free school meals

tigtag02

I would suggest packed lunches - you could halve that figure at least!

d123

I dont think you qualify

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

• 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 Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,040
• Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment finishes or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SchoolLife/DG_4016089

snapping_crocodile

£200 a month on school dinners :eek:

As another poster has said, try the packed lunch route....that would certainly save you some cash

welshmoneylover

Is this a wind up? Why have so many children if you can't afford to feed them?

AnxiousMum

From the info above it doesn't look like it, but, it sounds like right now you are paying about £1.75 per child per day for a school lunch? If you think about it - you are spending over £200 per month on meals that the kids probably don't like, and if anything like the dinners at my kids' school - aren't filling in the slightest.
For alot less money, some teamwork from the kids, you could save around £140 per month by giving them a home packed lunch.

There is a thread here somewhere with great suggestions for healthy school lunches for 50p - likely on the old style moneysaving threads, I'll try and find it for you and post the link.
My kids all help out getting their lunches ready - one gets the drinks, the other the yogurt tubes, one will make jello or choc mousse for the following day, I usually make the sandwiches.....but it saves quite a bit of money!

Necroscope

How old are you. If you are under 16 you may be entitled to free school meals. Please see a parent or guardian to see if you are eligible.

If you are asking as the parent of a child if you can get free school meals, you will need to get the kids to sneak them out of the school. (I suggest tupperware that can seal so nothing spills out when they bring it home)