FSM & Eligibility Checker

Apply online here  -   FSM Elgibility Checker

There are some important changes to Free Schools Meals (FSM) starting from September 2026. 

The 'Free School Meals/ Pupil Premium Service' is a website provided by the Grid for Learning (LGFL) where parents can quickly and easily check eligibility for free school meals and , if eligible, also gain welcome additional funding for St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, known as Pupil Premium.

Even though we offer Free Healthy School Meals (FHSM) to all children from Reception to Year 6 we do strongly encourage applications for benefit-related Free School Meals (FSM) as the additional funding gained would still benefit education provision at our school. 

What the service does for parents:

After entering essential details into the website, the online application process links to the Department for Education system for checking eligibility and gives an immediate Yes or NO response, and will notify the school. 

This system is being provided to encourage parents to apply for their entitlements while at the same time increasing the benefit to the school for Pupil Premium funding, a substantial amount of which does not reach schools because not all parentswho are eligible, apply for free meals for their child.

To gain access to this software there is a short registeration which also gives you access, if required, to other LGFL services and benefits that are available to the school.

What the service does for schools: 

As the London Borough of Southwark has introduced free healthy schools meals for all children from Reception to Year 6, it is more important than ever for schools to know the number of pupils fro whoms they can claim Pupil Premium funding. These funds enable schools to invest in additional equipment, resources and activieis to the benefit of the children.