School Meal Price Increase Effective January 2026

Parents, the Education Authority (EA) recently set out a number of savings measures in response to a significant funding shortfall of around £300million. As part of these measures, school meal prices will increase in January for the first time since 2017. Pupils entitled to Free School Meals will not be affected by this rise, and in pre-school, primary and special school settings will continue to receive a meal as before. In post-primary, which operates on a cafeteria basis, the daily free school meal allowance will increase by 19.25% to £3.34 to mirror the price increase across all menu items. For pupils who are not entitled to free school meals, new prices will come into effect in January 2026 and are reflected in the figures shown.