A document is attached below to help explain the differences between FSM, FSM6, Disadvantaged and Pupil Premium. This is important when it comes to running reports and applying filters in Nexus because making the wrong selection can lead to different numbers of pupils being included.
Note:
During the period of Universal Credit roll-out (from April 2018 to August 2026) free school meal eligibility was not withdrawn from a recipient unless a family specifically asked for it to be removed. This meant that FSM eligibility (and the largest component of FSM6 and Pupil Premium) was growing over that time independently of the actual numbers who were currently eligible.
From September 2026, the DfE is expanding Free School Meals eligibility to include all children in households receiving Universal Credit, removing the existing £7,400 annual income threshold and making an estimated 500,000 additional pupils eligible. However, to preserve the integrity of existing funding and accountability mechanisms, the expanded cohort is split into two categories: Targeted FSM (pupils in UC households earning no more than £7,400, who continue to count towards FSM6, Pupil Premium, deprivation funding, Home to School Transport, and the HAF programme) and Expanded FSM (all other UC households, who receive meals only but do not attract disadvantaged funding or affect the FSM6 cohort). Within Nexus, only Targeted FSM records will drive existing FSM eligibility flags and downstream logic. Expanded FSM data is stored for statutory reporting purposes but does not impact funding calculations or historical records.