Changes to Free School Meals and the definition of 'Disadvantaged'

What has changed?

From September 2026 there are now two categories of Free School Meal eligibility. Pupils in both groups receive a free meal, but only one group forms part of the disadvantage measures used in official school accountability systems.

Table of examples:

¹ A pupil becoming eligible for FSM (Expanded) for the first time from September 2026 onwards would not be part of the FSM6/Pupil Premium group. If they had previously been part of the FSM6 group, they would remain so until 6 years has elapsed since FSM eligibility.

² A pupil may be eligible for FSM through a different route but the fact that they are a looked after child or previously looked after child does not necessarily mean they qualify for FSM.

This means that a school's FSM percentage and disadvantaged percentage may now be quite different.

What does disadvantaged mean in the IDSR?

The IDSR defines disadvantaged pupils as those who:

• have been eligible for FSM within the last six years (Ever 6 FSM)
• are looked-after children
• are previously looked-after children.

Therefore, the disadvantaged group used in accountability measures is the Pupil Premium cohort rather than all pupils receiving a free meal.

What does this mean in practice?

A school may have more pupils receiving Free School Meals than are shown in the official disadvantaged figures within the IDSR.

For example:

In this example:

• 35% of pupils are entitled to receive a free school meal.
• Only 18% are included in the Department for Education's official disadvantaged cohort used for accountability measures and reported in the IDSR.
• The difference is the pupils receiving FSM Expanded. These pupils receive a free meal but are not included in the Ever 6 FSM/Pupil Premium cohort used within disadvantage measures.

This means that leaders may be providing support for a much larger group of pupils than is visible within the official disadvantaged data.

Why is this important?

A school might identify that pupils receiving FSM Expanded:

• have lower attendance
• require additional pastoral support
• need support with uniform, trips or enrichment
• have lower attainment than their peers
• other barriers to learning

Leaders may quite rightly choose to monitor and support these pupils as a significant group.

However, those pupils may not appear within the disadvantaged measures reported in the IDSR because they are not part of the Ever 6 FSM/Pupil Premium cohort.

What do inspection documents say?

The September 2026 inspection materials identify four groups that inspectors should pay particular attention to:

• Disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils with SEND
• Pupils known or previously known to children's social care
• Pupils facing other barriers to learning or wellbeing (for example young carers)

Inspectors are expected to understand how well leaders identify and support these groups.

What does this mean for school leaders?

The most important message is: Schools do not need to organise everything around national labels.

Instead consider:

• Who are the significant groups in your school?
• What barriers do they face?
• How have you identified this?
• What support do they receive?
• How do you know it is making a difference?

Example 1

A school identifies that pupils eligible for FSM Expanded are attending less well than their peers.

Although these pupils are not included within the disadvantaged cohort used in the IDSR, leaders:

• identify the issue
• analyse attendance patterns
• work with families
• provide support
• evaluate impact

In this example, leaders have identified a need and responded effectively.

Example 2

A school identifies that pupils who are both SEND and Ever 6 FSM are achieving less well in reading.

Leaders:

• identify the overlap between the groups
• provide targeted support
• monitor progress
• evaluate whether provision is working

In this example, leaders understand the barriers for pupils and the impact of their actions rather than the label attached to the pupils.

In both of these examples, leaders are likely to want to talk to inspectors about their approach and its impact.

Ofsted Achievement Toolkit

The following paragraph is taken from the achievement toolkit:

Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing generally make suitable progress from their starting points. They develop appropriate knowledge and skills to enable them to progress to the next stage. Any gaps in their knowledge or skills are closing quickly.

What inspectors are exploring is whether leaders can demonstrate that these groups of pupils are learning successfully, building knowledge and skills over time, and catching up quickly if they have fallen behind.

Inspectors are likely to explore this through case sampling and may:

- look at pupils’ books and other examples of their work

- talk to pupils about their learning

- observe pupils in lessons and learning activities

- talk to leaders about how pupils' needs are identified and supported

- talk to staff about provision, adaptations and the impact these are having

- consider whether gaps in knowledge, skills or achievement are closing over time.

Key takeaway

FSM entitlement, Ever 6 FSM, Pupil Premium and disadvantage are no longer the same thing. More pupils will be entitled to free school meals, but only FSM Targeted pupils become part of the Ever 6 and Pupil Premium cohorts that feed into disadvantage measures.

Ultimately, what matters most is not how pupils are labelled, but how well leaders know their pupils, understand their barriers, provide support and evaluate impact.

Further information is available on the Gov.UK site: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities/free-school-meals-guidance-for-local-authorities-local-authority-maintained-schools-academies-and-free-schools

All information in this blog is correct at time of publication, however could be subject to national change.

Co-authored by Ben Fuller (Lead Assessment Officer) and Lisa Massey (District School Effectiveness Adviser)