SCHOOL children from the poorest families are to get free meals during the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays.

The winter grant scheme worth £170million will see free school meals extended to cover the term-time breaks until March 2021.

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Free schools meals will be extended over the winter

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Free schools meals will be extended over the winterCredit: PA:Press Association

An extra £220million will be available from next year to provide holiday activities and free meals for kids throughout the Easter, summer and Christmas breaks in 2021.

And the Healthy Start voucher scheme payments will rise from £3.10 to £4.25 a week next April.

England footballer Marcus Rashford, who has headed the campaign for free school meals, has welcomed the government u-turn.

It comes more than two weeks after Tory MPs voted against providing the most vulnerable youngsters free school meals in winter.

Marcus Rashford has led a campaign to continue free school meals over the holidays

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Marcus Rashford has led a campaign to continue free school meals over the holidaysCredit: PA:Press Association

The measures acknowledge two of Mr Rashford’s demands — free school meals during holidays and the vouchers rise.

He also asked the PM to hold ­more talks about extending free school meals to every child from a household on Universal Credit.

Families who are already eligible for free school meals will be able to claim the extra help.

Currently, free meals are only available during term-time for children from households on certain income-related benefits, including income support, jobseeker’s allowance, and employment and support allowance.

According to campaign group Food Foundation, around 200,000 UK kids have skipped meals during the first coronavirus lockdown because they didn’t have enough food.

Below we round-up who is entitled to the help and how to get it. Some local authorities and businesses have also launched their own separate schemes off the back of campaign calls, which we outline below.

Which children are eligible for free school meals?

Eligibility for free school meals varies slightly between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland because the nations set their own rules.

But you may be able to claim free school meals for your child if you, or your child, get any 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 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 applied on or after April 1, 2018 your household income is less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

If you qualify, kids get the support from nursery age through to sixth form.

Separately, in England all pupils in reception and year’s one and two, regardless of income, can get free school meals during term time in state schools.

In Scotland, children in primary, year’s one, two and three can claim free school meals regardless of family income.

Use the relevant government tools online – in England, Northern IrelandScotland or Wales – to check if you can get free school meals.

Some local authorities are also offering help for struggling families outside of term-time too

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Some local authorities are also offering help for struggling families outside of term-time tooCredit: Getty Images – Getty

How can I apply for free school meal vouchers?

How you claim the free school meals depends on where you live.

For example, you can either get a form to fill in from your school, call your local council or fill in an online form.

Start by entering your postcode into the Gov.uk website to see what the process is in your area.

There’s a different process if you live in Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales.

It’s worth pointing out that if you claim housing benefit or council tax support you can apply for free school meals when you are filling out your forms.

What other help is there during the school holidays?

Some local authorities, as well as big and small businesses offered their own schemes to help children during October half-term.

Birmingham City Council, for example, provided 61,000 children with vouchers, while London’s Southwark Council provided meals for all kids currently on the term-time scheme.

Contact your local authority to ask if extra help is available and how to apply if so.

It’s likely you’ll be provided with a voucher to spend at certain supermarkets given school catering facilities are unlikely to be open during the holidays.

Meanwhile, Co-op gave a £20 voucher to 5,000 pupils across its 25 academies to help cover the cost of October half-term and Morrisons gave 15,000 packed lunches to food banks every day of this week.

Packs were paid for by Morrisons’ shoppers in store and cost between £1 and £5.

You normally need a referral from a charity, doctor or support worker to access a food bank.

Visit Citizens Advice for more information on this; the charity itself can also provide referrals.

Marcus Rashford speaks about his childhood after penning letter asking government to reverse decision to halt free school meals initiative at the end of this term

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk

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