Children will be eligible if their parents are in receipt of one or more of the following benefits, which are the benefits used to access eligibility for free school meals:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided they’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 they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  Universal Credit

Or if they have been:

• Looked after by the local authority for at least 1 day
• Have been adopted from care
• Have left care through special guardianship
• Subject to a child arrangement order setting out with whom the child is to live (formerly known as residence orders)