Eligibility criteria for low income families

Families in receipt of any of the following benefits meet the low income criteria:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of the State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided the parent/carer is not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Universal Credit - your annual household income must be less than £7,400 (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

The following distance criteria applies for families who meet the low income criteria:

• the nearest suitable school is beyond two miles, by the nearest walking route (for children over the age of eight and under 11); or
• the school is between two miles (nearest walking route) and six miles (by road) (if aged 11 to 16 and there are not three or more suitable nearer schools); or
• the school is between two miles (nearest walking route) and 15 miles (by road) and is the nearest school preferred on the grounds of religion or belief (aged 11 to 16)