Pupil who is eligible under targeted FSM
| FSM start date | Record the date when the pupil first became eligible for targeted FSM. (That is when eligibility was first verified after the application for FSM was submitted.) |
| FSM eligibility verification date (1) | Record the date when the eligibility for targeted FSM was last verified on the FSM eligibility checking service. (For the autumn census, any date between 1 June 2026 and 1 October 2026.) |
| FSM end date | This field should not be completed. |
| UK country | Enter the applicable UK country. |
| FSM category (2) | targeted FSM (TFSM) code. |
Pupil who is eligible for targeted FSM (based on the separate NRPF, immigration or pension credit criteria)
| FSM start date | Record the date when the pupil first became eligible for FSM. (That is when eligibility was first verified after the application for FSM was submitted.) |
| FSM eligibility verification date (1) | Record the date when the eligibility for targeted FSM was last verified. (For the autumn census, any date between 1 June 2026 and 1 October 2026). Pupils eligible for FSM through these circumstances cannot be verified via the manage eligibility for free school meals service, so schools will need to re-verify eligibility in other ways and keep appropriate records of how they have done that for audit purposes. |
| FSM end date | This field should not be completed. |
| UK country | Enter the applicable UK country. |
| FSM category (2) | targeted FSM (TFSM) code. |
Pupil who becomes eligible for FSM for the first time in academic year 2026 to 2027, under expanded FSM
| FSM start date | Record the date when the pupil first became eligible for expanded FSM. (This will be any date from 1 August 2026.) |
| FSM eligibility verification date (1) | Record the date when the eligibility for expanded FSM was last verified on the manage eligibility for free school meals service. (For the autumn census, any date between 1 June 2026 and 1 October 2026.) |
| FSM end date | This field should not be completed. |
| UK country | Enter the applicable UK country. |
| FSM category (2) | expanded FSM (EFSM) code. |
Pupil who moved from being eligible under targeted FSM in the previous census to being eligible under expanded FSM at the time of the current census. Schools need to enter both periods, starting with the live period.
| FSM start date | For the ‘live’ period, record the date when the pupil first became eligible for expanded FSM. (That is when the first verification check was carried out, showing that the pupil had moved to expanded FSM. This will be any date from 1 August 2026.) For the ‘closed’ period record the date when the pupil first became eligible for targeted FSM. (That is when eligibility was first verified after the application for FSM was submitted.) |
| FSM eligibility verification date (1) | For the ‘live’ period, record the date when the eligibility for expanded FSM was last verified on the manage eligibility for free school meals service. (In this case, that is likely to be the same date as the start date – any date between 1 June 2026 and 1 October 2026.) For the ‘closed’ period this field should not be completed. The ‘last verified date’ should only be completed in ‘live’ periods of eligibility. |
| FSM end date | For the ‘live’ period, this field should not be completed For the ‘closed’ period record the date when they found out the pupil was no longer eligible for FSM under targeted FSM. |
| UK country | For the ‘live’ period, record the applicable UK country For the ‘closed’ period record the applicable UK country |
| FSM category (2) | For the ‘live’ period, record expanded FSM (EFSM) code For the ‘closed’ period record targeted FSM (TFSM) code. The first entry will ensure they are accurately captured as currently eligible for expanded FSM. The second entry will ensure that they are captured as part of the FSM6 cohort by DfE. |
Pupil who was eligible under targeted FSM at last census but is no longer eligible for FSM (under either threshold)
| FSM start date | Record the date when the pupil first became eligible for targeted FSM. (That is when eligibility was first verified after the application for FSM was submitted.) |
| FSM eligibility verification date (1) | this field should not be completed. The ‘last verified date’ should only be completed in ‘live’ periods of eligibility. |
| FSM end date | Record the date when they found out the pupil was no longer eligible. |
| UK country | Enter the applicable UK country |
| FSM category (2) | targeted FSM (TFSM) code. Even though this pupil is no longer eligible for FSM, they will still be captured as part of the FSM6 cohort by the DfE. |
(1) FSM eligibility verification date: an error would appear if the date entered is too old, prompting a recheck for FSM eligibility. If no re-check is made, the pupil will not be considered FSM eligible and will not attract FSM funding.
(2) FSM category: If this is left blank, an error message will appear, prompting that this information is compulsory
Pupil who was eligible for FSM under the targeted FSM category between the previous and current census – for example, they do not have an open FSM period as at census day.
It is rare for schools to be aware of a pupil being eligible for FSM in between census periods, as following the end to the transitional protections, we are only requiring schools to check FSM annually for funding purposes, but it can happen;
a. Where a pupil was eligible under targeted FSM between census periods but is not eligible at the time of the census.
b. Pupil who was eligible for FSM under the expanded FSM category between the previous and current census – for example, they do not have an open FSM period as at census day.
(The school does not need to complete the FSM module for this pupil since expanded FSM is only used for the purpose of meal funding, and we only provide meal funding in respect of pupils eligible at the time of the census.)
FSM start date: The school should enter the date when the pupil first became eligible for targeted FSM. (That is when eligibility was first verified after the application for FSM was submitted.)
FSM eligibility verification date: This field should not be completed for this pupil.
The ‘last verified date’ should only be completed in ‘live’ periods of eligibility.
FSM end date: The school should enter the date when they found out the pupil was no longer eligible.
UK country: Enter the applicable UK country.