Primary pupils

All pupils from Reception to Year 6 will receive a free school meal at lunch time paid for through funding from the Mayor of London. You can read more about it on the London Borough of Hounslow website. The same arrangements as normal for fruit at break time will be in place.

YIf a primary or a secondary school child qualifies for additional support based on your household income or benefits, it is important to apply through Reach Academy Feltham.

Is your child eligible for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium?

We encourage all our families to apply to see whether they are eligible for Free School Meals or Pupil Premium as it unlocks some important benefits.

Even if your child is in Primary and already receives free meals, thanks to the Mayor of London’s scheme, we still encourage families to check if they qualify. If they do, your child gets access to free meals throughout their time at school and the school receives extra funding through the Pupil Premium to help support your child in other ways.

Why is this important?

If eligible:

• Your child may have access to additional support such as: help with school trips, academic support, and wellbeing services
• Your child would continue to receive free school meals beyond Primary school
• The school would receive up to £1,480 per year to support your child’s learning

If submitting an in-year transfer from another school, you can provide a letter from your child’s current school which states that your child is eligible for Pupil Premium, and is eligible for benefits related Free School Meals, as supporting evidence. This should have the start date that your child became eligible and an end date if applicable.

Milk for Nursery, Reception and Year One pupils

All children in nursery and Reception receive free milk daily.

When your child reaches Year 1, milk is available at a subsidised cost to families who are not eligible for free school meals via our school milk supplier, Cool Milk. Drinking milk at mid-morning break offers protein, calcium and other vital nutrients, which are all important for children’s growth and development. It can also be a sensible way to bridge the gap between breakfast and lunch.

If you would like your child to receive milk on a daily basis please register on www.coolmilk.com. After registration, you can make a pre-payment via your online account for the remaining half term, term or academic year. You can also choose a specified amount. Please note that you must register before 5pm on a Tuesday to be on the following week’s milk list, otherwise it is the week after. On a weekly basis we will be sent a list of those who have paid, so that they can receive milk at school.

If your child is eligible for Free School Meals and you have not informed us, please contact catherine.tobin@reachacademy.org.uk

Paying for school meals for Secondary pupils

In Year 7-Year 13 the charge is £2.47 per meal. This will change to £2.60 per pupil from 2nd November 2026 which reflects the recent increase in portion sizes

Food must be paid for in advance and payment is made via the school’s online payment system, MCAS. Parents can choose to pay weekly, monthly, half-termly or termly. Any meals that are not subsequently taken, due to unauthorised absence, will not be credited back and neither will those as a result of short-term illnesses. If a child is suffering from a long-term illness then a compromise may be reached, but only after discussion with the Senior Leadership.