School Meals
Newcastle City Council offers a healthy and exciting lunch option for your child. Free school meals are available for any eligible child who attends a mainstream school or academy on a full time basis. To find out more - or apply online - please visit Newcastle City Council or see more information below.
Download Newcastle City Council's Menu
Our award-winning team provide nutritionally well-balanced meals to schools across Newcastle. Our menus include different choices each day and always include a vegetarian option. We also cater for a variety of dietary requirements including needs related to allergens, gluten free and diabetes.
All our menus follow the government guidelines in the School Food Plan. These standards from the Department for Education ensure that meals are healthy, nutritious and appealing.
All of our meals are prepared fresh daily on site, and most of our ingredients are sourced locally. Our service has been annually awarded the Soil Association Food for Life Catering Bronze Award for our efforts.
Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get one of the qualifying benefits and they are:
- in government-funded education full time up to the age of 19, or
- in a nursery class or nursery school and attending for full days.
You will need to get one of the following benefits:
- 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’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 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit - if you apply 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.
If your child qualifies for free school meals, they’ll get them until they finish the phase of schooling (first, primary or secondary) they’re in on 31 March 2022. Children attending middle or high schools on 31 March 2022 will get them until they finish Year 11. They’ll get them even if you stop getting the qualifying benefit.
After this date, your child will only continue to get free school meals if you get one of the benefits.
To complete an application for Free School Meals please access the Citizens Portal using the link below:
https://www.newcastlelea.org/CitizenPortal_LIVE/en
You will receive the outcome of your application immediately when making an application through the portal.
