On 1st April 2025, a quiet but far-reaching change came into effect: the end of transitional protections for free school meals (FSM). Over the next six years, an estimated 500,000 – 550,000 children in England currently on FSM will no longer receive them — children who had previously been shielded from sudden eligibility changes due to the complexities of the Universal Credit (UC) roll-out replacing other existing ‘legacy benefits (such as Council Tax support and Housing Benefit).
But with these protections now removed, many families are set to lose out. This blog breaks down what’s happening, why it matters, and where FSM policy could go next.
What were transitional protections — and why did they exist?
When UC began replacing legacy benefits, the government introduced FSM transitional protections to avoid children losing their meals because of unpredictable income changes. Any child eligible and registered for FSM since 1 April 2018 (based on a £7,400 post-tax household income threshold) could keep their FSM entitlement meals throughout their schooling, regardless of changes in household income.
These protections formally ended on 31 March 2025. That means children on transitional protection FSM will now lose their entitlement once they finish their current school phase (either Primary (age 11) or Secondary (age 16).
How many children are affected?
Exact figures are hard to come by. The Department for Education doesn’t publish current numbers on pupils in receipt of transitional protections. But extrapolating from recent Welsh data (who do publish Wales transitional protection numbers) suggests around 500,000 – 550,000 children in England are likely covered by transitional protections — roughly 25% of all those registered for FSM.
What happens next — and who loses out?
Each year between 2025 and 2031, more children will finish their protected phase of education and lose their FSM entitlement. By 2031, this change will equate to a £245.8 million annual reduction in FSM funding. That’s not just a number — it’s food security and stability taken away from hundreds of thousands of households.
Bremner & Co have been trying to make sense of he numbers and have prepared a briefing note. In September 2025 (the start of the next school year), we estimate that around 45,000 – 50,000 children currently in Year 6 and around 35,000 – 40,000 from Year 11 will lose their FSM as they lose their transitional protections.
Each year for the next five years, we estimate that between 80,000 – 90,000 pupils will lose out, with that number dropping for the final two years that transitional protections will be in place (for children who are currently in Reception and Year 1), until over 500,000 children have lost their access FSM. Each year, that means around millions of pounds reduction in funding, cumulating to around £250 million reduction each year by 2031.
Why this matters beyond free meals
This isn’t just about school lunches. FSM status can often unlock a range of additional support funding — from uniform grants to Household Support Fund access, to funding for school trips.
Whilst the pupil premium funding will remain (via the complex “FSM Ever 6” funding rule), many local grants and benefits will stop as soon as a child loses FSM status. The financial cliff edge is real — and it’s steep.
The problem of ‘flip-flop’ eligibility
From April 2025, without transitional protections, children in households hovering near the income threshold could move in and out of FSM eligibility multiple times a year. According to a report by Policy in Practice for the Joeseph Rowntree Foundation, around 30% of UC households experience significant income changes annually. This volatility potentially:
- Deepens food insecurity for affected children,
- Adds administrative burdens for schools and local authorities,
- And creates confusion for families navigating an already complex system.
What should government do now?
With the Child Poverty Taskforce currently considering new policy measures, this moment offers a chance to act.
While the ultimate goal should remain a universal free school meal provision, raising the FSM income threshold — even modestly (to say £20,000 or even all those in receipt of Universal Credit — could re-enfranchise and restore stability for hundreds of thousands of children; and reduce administrative strain on schools.
And it adds extra impetus for the call to introduce free school meal automatic registration ((or FSM auto-enrolment) – so that families and schools do not have to continually re-apply for their entitlement.
Please get in touch at [email protected] for a copy of our technical briefing note on FSM transitional protections.