Free School Meals
We use an online checking service to check all applications for Free School Meals. If you wish to see if you are eligible, please follow the link below
The system is simple and easy to use, simply follow each stage in the step-by-step process. You will get an immediate answer as to eligibility. If your child is eligible please send a copy of the certificate your receive to admin@stbenedicts.essex.sch.uk Please be aware that we do NOT get an automatic notification and do need the certificate to be sent to us.
If you have any questions, or are for any reason unable to use the online system, please email admin@stbenedicts.essex.sch.uk or phone the college office on 01206 549222 and you will be helped with your application.
Every student eligible for free schools meals receives a daily allowance on the cashless catering system, which can be used at break or lunch time. This system is completely transparent and other students will not know that your son/daughter receives free school meals. The daily allowance is enough to purchase a substantial meal, & desert, however is can also be topped up via Parent Pay to enable further purchases if required.
If your child is eligible for, and has been registered to receive free school meals between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2025, they will remain eligible until they finish their current phase of schooling (primary or secondary). This is regardless of any change to your circumstances.
Students joining year 7 in September 2025 must reapply for Free School Meals from 1 August 2025, using the link above.
From 1 April 2025, all eligible applications will be regularly reviewed.
All children who have become eligible after 1 April 2025 will have their entitlement reassessed before the start of the 2025/2026 school year. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria at this time, then your child will not receive a free school meal at school in September.
